The Battle We Call Love -- ON HIATUS
by rysaspirit
Summary: ON HIATUS! As the crown prince of Illea, there has never been a battle that Ben can't win in his life. He has everything he could possibly ever need, yet at the same time, he's trapped in his own destiny. But with the people in Illea clamoring for his twin sister to replace him, and the threat of a war with New Asia, Ben has to face a new battle; one we call "love".
1. Prince Ben's Morning

Prince Ben was well and truly mad as he read the morning newspaper. Last night he had just filmed what he considered a decent Report, and yet the public still had complaints.

"'Why do we have him ruling our country? Marinette would be so much better?'" he quoted, reading the article. "Why are they even allowed to publish these things? If I was king, I'd behead them."

"Judging by how much the public hate you and how likely they are to assassinate you, you won't ever be king," said a voice, and Ben's twin sister Marinette popped her head into the door which he had apparently left open. "You've read the article?"

"Considering a certain someone left it by my room this morning, yes, I have," Ben grumbled, but grudgingly allowed her to come in and sit next to him.

She stayed silent for a few minutes, then sighed. "Ben, you know as well as I do that these people are probably never going to stop spreading the rumours."

When Ben and Marinette had been 5 years old, some ridiculous person had started the rumour that Marinette was the rightful heir to the throne. It made sense to the rest of Illea because Marinette had been half a head taller than Ben, their parents appreciated the old customs, and Ben had not been a very sensible baby. However, instead of fading away over the years, the rumour had gotten worse, and now more than half the country believed that Ben was not fit to rule.

"That helps," Ben grumbled.

Marinette groaned. "I know, I know, it's really stupid! I don't want to be queen either. But there's no way that anything I'll say that will stop all the rebels out there."

"Hold on, there are rebels?" Ben asked, suddenly alarmed. "Southern or Northern? Since when? How many? Will they attack?" Then he saw Marinette's annoyed expression and relaxed. "Oh. You mean people who don't think I should be king."

"So, I've been thinking these past few days," Marinette began, and Ben braced himself for the horrible suggestion that was to come.

"And I've decided that the best way for the people to start getting used to you is to have a selection!"

"WHAT?" Ben demanded, standing up and glaring at her. "Mar, are you insane? Me, have a selection?"

"It's the perfect solution!" she insisted, her eyes gleaming. "You're 18 now, and the public still sees you as unfit to rule. You're of age to have a selection. They'll start accepting that you're their ruler and will get to watch their future queen too! It'll also keep their minds off all your mistakes, and more on all the girls!

Ben loved Marinette, he really did, but sometimes he wished she wasn't so self-assured and goddamn _smart._

"Oh, and I've already suggested it to Mom," Marinette added, smiling. "She should have everything up and running by the end of the week."

"Do you know how much I want to chuck this pillow at you right now?" Ben snapped. He had just woken up and read yet another negative article about him, and then his lovely sister had come in and announced to him the worst news ever. His morning was going great.

As if his sister could read his thoughts, Marinette frowned. "You… Really don't like the idea of a selection?"

"The only experience I've had with girls is the princess of Italy," Ben said flatly. "And look how well that turned out."

Well, that was a lie, but he was most certainly not going into details with Marinette about his previous affairs.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at his statement, seeming to sense the lie, but shrugged. "Come on, Ben, you have to try. For our country."

Ben groaned and leaned back on his bed. "Fine. Now go away."

She rolled her eyes, which Ben figured she'd done about 50 times in the last few minutes. "By the way, you're 20 minutes late for breakfast. I thought I'd let you know before Mom decides to add five more girls per province to your selection."

And that was how Prince Ben's morning went.

A/N: Hey guys, so this is my first SYOC! This is just a little bit of insight into Ben and Marinette. How do you like them? Reviews are much appreciated!

Currently there are 30 spots available, seeing as 5 will be random made-up fillers. The form and list of girls will be on my profile! If you're a guest, submit your form through review, but if you have an account please send it through private message!

Please try and make diverse characters, from all different castes and maybe even a few different countries? I would really love a Swendish, Italian or Asian girl! (Just please don't make all of them have translators). Maybe also some mean girls, because we can never have enough drama, or some girls who are there just for the money? It's all up to you, but I'm expecting a lot from you! ;)

Remember, the more detail your character has, the better chance of your character making it to the Elite! DETAIL IS KEY.

Until next time!

~rysa


	2. Cameras and Cheeseburgers

"Starting in five minutes!"

The makeup artist hurriedly dabbed some more blush onto Ben's face, and he resisted the urge to sneeze. Next to him, Marinette and his little sister Tori were also being similarly prepared.

Next to Edvin Althuis, the host, Ben's parents were going over the lineup for the Report. "So first we'll have the announcements about the war in New Asia," his mother, Queen Aaliyah, was saying. "Then we'll have the announcement of the Selection. What am I forgetting?"

"You're not forgetting anything," said Ben's father, King Julien, putting an arm around his wife. "It'll be fine. Stop worrying so much!"

Ben groaned inwardly. He was supposed to announce the Selection, and pretend that it was a glorious opportunity that he had always wanted, when really his dear twin sister had pushed it onto him because she refused to be the ruler of Illea.

The makeup artist finally seemed to finish transforming his face after some more swipes, and he took his chair on the set, in between Marinette and Tori. Then he realised that he was directly in front of the camera. Great, was the whole of Illea going to watch him closely as he messed up?

Marinette nudged him slightly, and he spun around to look at her. "What do you want?" he asked, exasperated. He'd become increasingly less friendly to her after her idea of having a selection, but it was her own fault, wasn't it?

"Try not to mess up, okay?" Marinette said, and Ben groaned.

"What, do you think I try-"

"Starting in one minute!" Edvin said, adjusting the pin on his shirt.

Ben's parents finally came and sat down on either side of them, however Julien stopped next to Ben first. "Do your best, son," he said. Ben made a noncommittal grunt.

Then, they were starting.

"Welcome to the Illea Capital Report!" Edvin, announced, beaming cheerfully into the camera, while Ben wanted to shield his eyes from the bright studio lights. "I am honoured to have with me today the royal family! Introducing King Julien, Queen Aaliyah, Princess Marinette, Princess Vitoria, and none other than your crown prince, Prince Benvolio!"

Ben figured that Aaliyah must have told him to mention that he was the crown prince, as if saying that there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"Today we have a very special announcement from our prince, but first, we have more serious matters to discuss. Queen Aaliyah, I believe you have something to say about the war in New Asia?"

Queen Aaliyah stood up and took the microphone. "Thank you, Edvin," she said, then turned towards the camera. Ben always wished he had his mother's effortless grace on camera. He usually got nervous and messed up, even after years of being on the Report. "As many of you may know, a small part of New Asia is currently not very happy with our country. They may end up being a threat to us, but for now there is no real harm. We are not sure if they will ever make a move, but do not worry, we have things under control and hope to regain peace with the New Asians as soon as possible."

Hah. Ben knew why the New Asians hated them. It was all because of him. The New Asians didn't think he would be a good ruler. But of course, they used that to their advantage, and his parents thought that New Asia might try to take over Illea one day.

"Thank you, your Highness," Edvin said as Aaliyah returned to her seat. "Now, here's our surprise announcement from our very own crown prince, Prince Benvolio!"

Ben stood up awkwardly, very nearly tripping over Tori's outstretched foot, and took the microphone. "Please, Edvin, call me Ben." he said, for the millionth time in his life. Then he turned toward the camera. "I am very happy to announce that, I, ah, will be hosting an, err, Selection!" For some reason, an image of cheeseburgers appeared in his mind. He hadn't had them in a while, being a prince and all. "My ancestors found love this way, and I hope to find a girl who I like and will be a good cheeseburger," stupid him and his verbal slips! "I MEAN, queen one day!"

Edvin pretended not to notice his mistake, thankfully, and grinned. "That is wonderful news, your Majesty! I remember hosting your father King Julien's selection. It was a very chaotic time, but I always had a feeling from the start that your father and mother would end up together. I hope you will have the same experience as him." Seemingly eager to dismiss him, Edvin turned to Aaliyah. "As a former participant in the Selection, do you have any advice for these 35 young girls whose lives will change forever?"

Aaliyah stood up, and Ben sat down quickly, relieved that his turn was finally over. "Be prepared for nothing like you've ever known before," she began, and Ben saw Tori roll her eyes slightly. "It will be a brand new experience. You will know what it is like to live life like a royal. For you, it might seem easy, it might seem hard. It might seem boring, it might seem amazing. Just always keep in mind that the Selection might be a competition, but you're not the ones doing the choosing. My son will be. So whatever happens, don't let that get to you."

Ben honestly didn't know whether that was positive, but he thanked his mother mentally for ending his turn.

"That was excellent, Queen Aaliyah!" Edvin exclaimed, as Aaliyah returned to her seat. "Prince Ben, any words?"

Ben wanted to die there and then, but he forced a smile. "Erm, just be yourself. Don't change yourself for me. I'm not worth it." He heard his parents and Edvin chuckle (fakely) and Marinette groan. "But really, this is new to me as well. I just hope that you enjoy your time here at the castle."

"Thank you, Prince Ben!" Edvin said, then turned back to the camera. "Lucky ladies of Illea, you now have a week to fill in the forms and take your pictures for the Selection! Who knows, you might end up going to the castle, or becoming our future queen! We will be waiting for you! Tune in next Friday to see the girls chosen for the Selection! This is Edvin Althuis, and that's this week's Report for you!"

Ben breathed a sigh of relief, but it vanished as soon as Marinette turned to him.

"What was THAT?" Marinette demanded. "CHEESEBURGER?"

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be as charming as you," Ben defended, frowning. "But I didn't do too bad, right?"

"You were fine, son," Julien said, but he exchanged a nervous glance with his wife.

"Yeah," Aaliyah said half-heartedly, also looking worried.

Then, his 14-year-old sister finally voiced what everyone had been thinking.

"You sucked."


	3. Not Just a Name

There were many ways for Ben's day to begin. Either he'd get woken up by his alarm clock which he had somehow remembered to get a new battery for, get ice water dumped on his head by Marinette, or have Tori screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

Today was the third one.

"BENNNNNNNNNN!"

"What do you WANT?" Ben yelled from underneath his blanket, his voice muffled. He wasn't about to show his little sister what he looked like in the morning when he hadn't taken care of his hair yet.

"It's 8 o'clock, Ben! Mom's getting mad."

Ben groaned. "Tell her to give me two more hours."

Unfortunately for him, Tori didn't seem to be in the mood to listen to him, because Ben's peace was quickly shattered by Tori throwing away his blanket with superstrength. "Ben, I've seen you 50 times in the morning," she reassured him, "I know how atrocious your hair looks."

"Go away," Ben complained, still tired and not fully awake. "I need my beauty sleep."

"Ben, if you don't get out of that bed RIGHT THIS SECOND I will personally make sure you don't get a single minute of sleep for a week!"

Ben shot out of bed as soon as he heard his mother's voice. "Fine!" he yelped, causing Tori to laugh. He made his way towards the bathroom, trying to ignore how tired he was, and told himself that his mother had to be exaggerating.

By the time he was ready, his mother and sister had already gone, so he headed downstairs to the Dining Hall. Everyone that was eating automatically stopped and turned to him, and he immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Glad to see you finally showed up," Edvin remarked, causing Ben to scowl in his direction. "We've got quite a few things to do today, so you better eat quick."

"What things?" Ben asked, sitting down at his seat and grabbing himself a pancake.

"The Selection, Ben," Julien reminded his son gently. "We just got all the submissions today. We're going to video you choosing the envelopes today and then you'll announce the girls on the Report tonight."

Ben choked on his pancake.

Of course. How could he have forgotten? It had been a week since the last Report, and Aaliyah had been giving him a few more tasks than usual, but all in all it had been a very relaxed week for him.

That would all change in a few days, when he would have 35 strangers hanging around the palace. To say he was not looking forward to it would be an understatement.

"When are you going to video the envelopes?" he asked.

"As soon as you finish that pancake," Aaliyah said pointedly.

Twenty minutes later, he had finished two pancakes, a huge pile of bacon and a glass of orange juice and was beginning to feel quite fat.

"The baskets are in the other room," Edvin said, as Ben stood up. "Follow me!"

Sure enough, in the other room there were 35 large baskets, each filled to the brim with envelopes, and with a label on each basket saying the province they were from.

The camera crew was already set up, and Julien nodded and turned to Ben. "Once you're ready, just start taking envelopes out of the baskets. You'll do great!" Though to Ben, he didn't sound all that certain.

Ben sighed, walking towards the first basket. It was just taking envelopes out of a basket. What was there to lose?

The first basket was labelled "Allens", and he chose the first envelope he saw, while the people watching clapped. He did the same for the next few, then looked around and saw that people were getting bored.

Very well, he needed to change things up.

For the next basket, Denbeigh, he ignored the envelopes on top and dug his hand into the pile, fishing out one from the bottom. For Dominica, he chose an envelope sticking out of the side. For Fennley, he stirred the pile around a bit before choosing the one on top. For Hansport, he appeared to play a game of "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" before finally choosing one.

As soon as he picked the last envelope, from Zuni, he turned to the camera that had been following him and smiled widely, holding up the envelope. That hadn't been so bad.

Apparently Aaliyah thought so too, because she made it up to him by filling the rest of his day with tasks. He had to memorise a map of the castle's safe rooms, decide which dishes to serve when the girls arrived, listen to 50 songs played by the quartet and choose one to have playing during dinner, and to end it all, a long pep talk from his father saying that he shouldn't be quick to judge the girls, and that one of them was going to be his wife.

"After all, when your mother came, I just thought she was a weird Three that wasn't half as beautiful as the others," Julien added, smiling. "I didn't even want to talk to her. It was only when we had our first date that I-"

"Dad, I get it!" Ben said loudly.

Then came Ben's least favorite part of the day; the Report. He hated being in front of cameras, especially if it was being broadcasted live.

"Welcome to the Illea Capital Report!" Edvin said, starting off the Report as usual. "Today, our crown prince, Prince Benvolio, will be announcing the 35 lucky girls that will be coming to the palace in the next few days! Without any further ado, let's get started!"

Ben stood up. _Don't mess up,_ he told himself. Marinette had seemed to sense his nerves, and had refrained from making any rude comments. He took the microphone.

"Greetings, people of Illea," he began. "These 35 girls you are about to see on the screen will soon be coming to the palace." _Isn't that what Edvin just said?_ "I am looking forward to meeting all of you, and I hope you will enjoy your time here. Now, here are the girls!"

Edvin handed him the first envelope, and he opened it with trembling fingers. "Miss Fleur Delevie of Paloma, Five."

The people watching clapped politely. Ben took the next envelope. "Miss Adrienne Callas of Fennley, Two."

"Miss Arlette Jensine Perez of Allens, Three."

"Miss Nora Callaghan of Sota, Four."

"Miss Kaylee Keyes of Denbeigh, Five."

"Miss Lilianne Sebban of Clermont, Four."

He continued reading all the names, until eventually he stopped caring. They all became blurs in his head. They were just names.

"Thank you, Prince Benvolio!" Edvin said, after he had finished reading the last name, a Hadley Rosario from Hudson. "Those are the girls! We look forward to meeting you! To meet the girls in person next week and get the latest scoop of the Selection, watch the Illea Capital Report!"

"That actually… wasn't so bad," Ben admitted, shrugging. "It was easy to just read the names out loud."

Even Marinette seemed to be in a good mood, as she offered to help Ben memorise all the girls' names. However, this didn't have the intended effect on Ben.

"I HAVE TO MEMORISE ALL THEIR NAMES?" he demanded loudly.

"Come on, Tori and I will help you," Marinette insisted. "You don't want to have to ask every single girl for her name, do you?"

"I wouldn't mind," Ben mumbled, but obliged, taking all the forms and sitting down at his desk. He started flicking through them, not sure where to start.

"This one's from New Asia," Tori commented, shoving a form under Ben's nose. He read the form. Her name was Lauren and her parents were New Asian ambassadors.

"Lady Lauren," Ben repeated to himself, staring at her photo. "Got it."

Marinette picked up a pile of forms and read them. "These girls are all pretty different. They'll be easy to remember."

 _For you,_ Ben thought irritatedly.

Then he read all the forms, his head filling up with names. Lady Klara, Lady Lisa, Lady Olivia, Lady Luna and so on. Eventually, Marinette and Tori left him alone, and the last thing he saw was a picture of Vivian Kavvada before he fell asleep.


	4. The Selected

Ben was just about to meet 35 girls, who he would be dating for the next few weeks, and he was even more nervous than he had been on the Report.

He still didn't remember half their names, which Marinette was pissed at him for, but hey, he didn't have a photographic memory. She couldn't really blame him.

For once, he was thankful for his twin sister's company as they walked together towards the Woman's Room in silence.

"If I mess up, will you help me?" Ben asked suddenly, and Marinette paused and looked at him.

A small smile formed on Marinette's face. "You? Mess up? Never."

Just like that, his mood was instantly lifted by his sister's teasing as she opened the door to the Women's Room.

Ben's mouth dropped open. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it was still shocking to see 35 girls seated around the Women's Room, and to know that he would have to choose one of them to be his wife. His eyes flickered around the room for a moment, and he recognised a few faces, some which he could name. What he did notice was that all of them were beautiful. This might be easier than he thought.

The girls had been chatting before, but a hush fell over the room as Marinette entered, followed by Ben, and Ben felt 35 pairs of eyes swivelling to stare at him. It was not a pleasant sensation.

Marinette nudged Ben, and he stepped forward. "Hi," he said awkwardly. Was he supposed to say something more formal? "Welcome to the palace! I'm Prince Ben, as you hopefully know already, and if not, remind me to eliminate you." A few of the girls laughed. "I hope I'll get to know each and every one of you better over the next few weeks, and that you'll enjoy life here at the palace."

Marinette seemed to decide that she simply had to say something to ridicule Ben in front of his 35 girlfriends. "Alright, so Ben here will be meeting with you all individually outside the Women's Room. I'll be sending out people. We'll go in order from this side, how about that?" The girls nodded. "Alright, now get out there, you big fat bass."

Ben left the room, but as he shut the door behind him he heard the girls laughing, and groaned. Great. His sister had used his least favourite nickname. He reminded himself to embarrass her next time. However, he didn't have much time to think about his revenge because the door opened and a girl walked out.

Ben saw that two couches had been set-up, so he sat on one of them. "Come take a seat," he said, starting to get a little bit worried. What if he sent this girl running?

The girl sat down, and Ben was about to say something, but she got there first. "Big fat bass?" she questioned, grinning. "Where'd that come from?"

Ben groaned. "It's my initials. My full name is Benvolio Amadeus Sigfried Schreave. Don't laugh."

"Hey, that's not… Too bad," she said, but her face gave it away. "Try being called Kaylee Kimberly Keyes. It's a huge tongue-twister."

Aha! "Well, Lady Kaylee, how's your time at the castle been so far?"

"You mean, the few short hours I've been here?" Kaylee asked, and Ben smiled. "Well, it's been great, and some of the other girls are really awesome." Ben noticed how she said some, and wondered if any of the girls weren't so pleasant. "It's a huge change from home. I'm a quadruplet, so it's interesting getting to know new people."

Of course! He suddenly remembered her form. She had two sisters and a brother. She was a Five and her parents were classical musicians.

"How do you like the palace?" he asked, thinking it must be quite a change if she was a Five.

"Well, it's ginormous," Kaylee admitted, and Ben had to agree. "But it's also really cool! It's really fancy and… fancy, I guess."

Ben nodded, already feeling much more confident. "Well, it's been great talking to you, Lady Kaylee."

Kaylee stood up. "You too… Benvolio Amadeus Sigfried Schreave," she said, grinning.

"Just Ben is fine!" Ben insisted, laughing, as Kaylee walked back into the room. Kaylee seemed to be a fun girl, and she was easy to talk to. Another girl came and sat down on the couch.

"Hey," she said, smiling. "I'm Luna."

"I'm Ben, but like I said, if you don't know that I'll have to eliminate you," Ben said, smiling back. She was one of the prettier ones, with curly dark brown hair and olive skin.

"Then I guess I won't be going home today," Luna joked. "How're you liking the Selection so far?"

Ben was a bit taken aback at having questions asked at him, but he shrugged. "I'm very new to this thing. So far it's going well, though you're only the second girl I've met with so that's not saying a lot. I'll probably mess up sooner or later. How about you?"

"It's pretty cool," Luna admitted. "I never thought I'd have a chance to see the palace, or, you know… meet you." She blushed a little at her words, and Ben told himself sternly not to feel too happy and embarrassed about that.

"I'm not that special," he joked, though his cheeks still felt rather hot. "But you definitely are, Lady Luna, and it's been nice talking to you."

Luna stood up, smiling again. "Thanks!" Then she walked back into the room, and a new girl came and sat down opposite him.

The next few girls went just as well. There was Lady Olivia, who was very polite and kind, though a bit reserved. A girl called Odonata gave him a scarab beetle and explained that she hoped he would have a good rule like many Egyptian pharoahs, which he found really sweet but somewhat confusing. Lauren, the New Asian girl Tori had pointed out to him when trying to memorise names, wasn't any less gorgeous in person, and she was a great person, if not self-centered. Lady Akita managed to keep their fun conversation going for a few minutes. He met a fashion designer, who revealed herself as Cassandra and was wearing a stunning dress. As he waved to another girl, a Lady Klara from Lakedon who had been very friendly and bubbly, he was starting to wonder why he had ever dreaded this.

Which was why the next girl took him by surprise.

"Lady AJ," he greeted, as the Hispanic girl sat down. He remembered her saying that she preferred to be called AJ in her form.

"Don't call me Lady AJ," AJ snapped, and Ben was a bit taken aback. "It's just AJ."

"Okay then," Ben mumbled, a little unsure what to think of her.

"Honestly, is this your idea of solving everything?" AJ asked, scowling. "'Oh, the nation doesn't like me, so let's have a Selection so they can stop hating on me!'"

Ben tried to keep his calm. "I don't know what you're-"

"Even if you do find a girl to marry, that will never make you worthy of being king," AJ declared, glaring at him. "And whoever it is, I feel really sorry for her."

Then, before Ben had a chance to defend himself, she stormed back into the Women's Room.

Ben stared blankly for a few moments at the closed door, still unable to comprehend what he had just heard. Did people really hate him that much that they would sign up for the Selection just to have the chance to insult him?

While he was debating whether he had the authority to throw AJ in prison or not, the door had opened and another girl had taken AJ's place. Ben desperately hoped that this girl didn't hate him, but as soon as they started talking he knew he had nothing to worry about.

"Um, hey," the girl said, looking a little nervous.

"Lady Eliza," Ben greeted, glad he knew her name. "How's the Selection treating you so far?"

"Well, it's very hectic," Eliza admitted, and Ben smiled. "But, err, the other girls are pretty nice, and um, Princess Marinette's been talking with some of us too, and she seems… alright."

"Yeah, Marinette's a real handful," Ben agreed, and Eliza smiled, looking relieved. "Next time you see her, call her Marinated Chicken."

Eliza's eyes widened, and she looked terrified. "I can't do that!"

"Oh, never mind then," Ben said quickly, hoping he hadn't upset her. "That's okay. So how's the palace?"

"It's a little bit strange, but it's awesome," Eliza said, her eyes shining.

"I hope you'll get to see just how awesome it really is in the weeks to come," Ben said. "Thanks for your time, Lady Eliza."

Eliza gave him a little curtsy and left him with yet another girl.

The next few girls were also nothing like AJ. There was one girl that barely spoke a word, blushed the entire time and didn't even tell Ben her name. There was another girl who told him that it was unright to hire servants and that when he became king he should give all the workers new jobs. Luckily, not all the girls he met were bad, and a Lady Leia from Tammins was extremely nice and kind, though shy. Vivian, a girl that wore glasses, revealed that she was a photographer, and was a little awkward but he didn't mind. Lady Adrienne, a model, came off as somewhat arrogant but was very fun to talk to. A girl called Lilianne made a lot of jokes and helped Ben feel better. Lady Viera, who was Russian, left an impression on him with her natural humor.

Even though most of the girls he talked to were wonderful, albeit a few boring or rude ones, by the time he had finished talking to Lady Nora, who was a little quiet but made quite a few sarcastic remarks, he was about ready to collapse onto his bed.

He was so tired and bored that he figured he was probably dreaming when Marinette came walking through the door instead of another girl. "Hey, Marinated Chicken," he said casually.

"That's all the girls, dumbo," Marinette told him, and Ben immediately grinned. "You'll be seeing them again at dinner, but there's still half an hour left, so go and get some rest. You deserve it."

"I don't know where I'd be without you, Mari," Ben joked, and Marinette scowled.

"You'd be dying at the hands of AJ," she responded simply, as she walked away leaving a hurt Ben sitting on the couch. "Don't be late for dinner!"

* * *

So that's Ben meeting the girls! Sorry if I didn't mention your character, I tried to include as many as I could :) If your girl didn't make an appearance, don't worry! Ben'll have a chance to talk to them in the next chapter :)

Who's your favorite character so far? Who do you want to see more of? Who do you think should be Ben's first date? What do you want to happen in the next chapter?

Reviews are appreciated! :)

Until next time!

~Rysa


	5. Second Impressions

For once, dinner was much more fun and extremely loud. Ben noticed this as he sat down, though the noise quickly dwindled as all the girls turned to look at him.

He looked around the table and was glad to see some familiar faces. Vivian was stuffing her face with food, AJ's expression made him want to run, Leia waved shyly and Kaylee winked in his direction. However, the majority of the girls were

"Please, ladies, enjoy your meal," he said quickly, feeling awkward with 35 pairs of eyes on him, and thankfully, they soon returned to their own private conversations. He put some pasta in his bowl and started eating as well, hungry after his tiring afternoon.

"How do you feel about them, son?" the king asked quietly, trying not to draw attention.

Ben frowned in thought. He wasn't sure what he thought of the girls yet, as he'd only had one conversation with them. "I feel like falling asleep," he admitted. It was the truth; he felt his head might drop into his plate at any second. He knew from personal experience that it wouldn't be pleasant, so he forced himself to stay awake.

His father chuckled, amused at his son's antics. "Ahh, I remember when I was in your position. I was so overwhelmed and confused, and also defiant. I didn't know where to start. Oh well. You'll get it soon, son. You're strong."

"Um, thanks, dad," Ben muttered, slightly embarrassed that his father was giving him advice. He knew his father's own Selection had been a success, but he hoped he would be able to survive this one himself.

He finished eating a bowl of pasta and looked around again, where most of the girls were talking to each other. They all looked extremely happy, with the small exception of AJ. There was one girl, sitting two spaces away from him next to Tori, and she looked a little bit lost as she stared down at her food.

"Go talk to her," Marinette suggested, following Ben's gaze. Ben's cheeks turned red as he realised that his sister had seen him staring at the girl, but he decided to save the bickering for later and made his way to the girl.

"Lady Miriam," he greeted, and the girl almost jumped as she turned around.

"Prince Ben," she responded, recovering quickly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" Someone had clearly been paying attention in etiquette class.

"I just wanted to ask how you liked the food," he admitted. While he wasn't sure of the details, he was almost certain she was from a lower caste, so the food must have been a change for her, as well as many of the other Selected.

Miriam smiled, looking down at her plate of rice and curry. "Oh, it's lovely! We don't have this much variety back home." She took a bite of chicken, as if to prove her point.

Ben nodded. "One of the benefits of being a prince." Of course, there were cons too, such as being forced to broadcast your love life to Illea to keep everyone happy.

"I'd totally become a queen just for all this," Miriam joked. "Though I'm not sure I'd like the responsibilities."

"Oh, trust me, the food will just keep on getting better," Ben insisted, smiling. He looked around the table again and realised that most of the other girls were looking at him again, and some of their expressions didn't seem very friendly. "I suppose I'd better go talk to some other girls before I get mauled apart, but enjoy the rest of your… Orange stuff there."

"It's Thai curry!" Miriam protested, but waved him goodbye as he walked away. He then decided to approach the girl who was sitting opposite Miriam.

"Oh hey, Your Majesty!" the girl called in her thick French accent before he had even arrived next to her. "I just want to say, this food is… what's the word… delectable!"

"You could just use the word 'delicious'," commented the person from her right, but she smiled at Ben from behind a pair of black glasses.

"Lady Fleur, Lady Vivian," he greeted. He was getting much better at this name thing. Then again, it helped that he had met all the girls individually. "How are you enjoying the dinner?"

"Like I said, it's delectable," Fleur said. "What about you, Vivi?"

If Vivian minded the fact that Fleur just called her "Vivi", she didn't show it. "There's so much food on the table, and so many options… I think I want to stay here for the rest of my life."

"That's what Miriam just said," Ben blurted out, smiling, before realising he'd made a mistake. Fleur instantly stiffened and Vivian looked over at the brunette girl.

"Never mind that," Ben said quickly, worried he'd just offended them. He wasn't used to having 35 girlfriends at once.

"The orchestra is amazing," Fleur said, trying to change the topic. "I sort of miss my cello just listening to them!" She smiled.

"Only the finest musicians for the royal family, of course!" Ben said. He didn't particularly like music, but he had to admit that the orchestra was really good. He made a mental note that Fleur played the cello.

"Prince Ben!" yelled a girl from further down the table. "Some help here, please?"

Ben looked over and grinned, turning back to Fleur and Vivian. "Sorry, guess I'd better go see what's wrong."

Fleur nodded and Vivian gave him a thumbs up, and he went to go see what had happened that needed his help. It turned out to be Selina, Eliza, Lauren, Kaylee and Adrienne, crowded around a huge bowl of soup that had spilled onto the table and all over Lauren's leg.

"Oh my god!" Ben said as he stopped next to them. "How did this happen?"

Lauren pointed to Eliza, who immediately looked panicked. "I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "It was an accident!"

"That's okay," Ben reassured her. "We can get one of the maids to clean it up." He looked around the room and called for a maid, who immediately bustled over and started to wipe up the mess.

"So how was your dinner, aside from that?" Ben asked, and Eliza seemed to relax.

"It was great," Adrienne butted in, before anyone else could respond. "This food's fantastic. And everyone else is really fun to talk to." She gestured to everyone around the table.

Selina nodded in agreement. "I love the pasta!"

"The pasta's the best part of being a royal," Ben joked. "The worst part is probably that you don't get cheeseburgers on a daily basis."

"Oh yes, we know all about your obsession with those," Kaylee, who had been the one that called him, joked.

Ben shrugged. "What can I say? I'm not a healthy person."

The rest of his dinner flew by as he talked to more and more girls, quickly regretting his decision. Olivia and Claire were discussing duties. Amethyst, Lisa and Leia seemed to be fast friends. Odonata was very quiet but kind. As Ben returned to his seat after talking to practically everyone, he saw AJ glaring at him again, and remembered that he had to do something.

"Ladies, you are dismissed," he announced, but before everyone started standing up, he added, "Would Lady AJ, Lady Mina, Lady Maria, Lady Angela and Lady Candace please stay behind?"

All the girls whose names he'd just called looked at him nervously, except AJ, whose expression was full of hate, and as everyone else trickled out of the dining room, he turned to them. "I'm sorry to say this, but um, it was nice knowing you, and…" He couldn't concentrate with AJ glaring at him and briefly wondered if it might be safer throwing her in prison. "I don't think we have a future together, so uh, you're eliminated. I'm sorry."

Mina, the quiet one who barely said anything (he'd had to look through the forms for her name), nodded in understanding, bobbed him a quick curtsy and left the room.

Candace, a girl who had burst into tears as soon as she saw him, burst into tears again. "Why?" she sobbed. "I wanted to marry you!" Ben cringed and gently shooed her away.

Maria, the human rights activist that had bothered Ben in their first meeting about the maids, stomped out of the room huffily.

Angela, the girl who had very politely told Ben that there was broccoli in his teeth, seemed extremely offended at being eliminated. "Your hygiene is awful," she told him stiffly. "Thank the lord I'm not marrying someone with terrible breath."

As for AJ, she stomped on his foot harder than he thought was necessary, pulled a face at him and left, Ben muttering "See you never!" under his breath.

The Selection had begun.

* * *

The Selection has officially begun now! Yay! I'm so excited!

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to Thailand tomorrow and will stay there for around a week, so I may not be on much. However I'll make up for it by updating tons as soon as I'm back, so stay tuned for that!

All of our spots are filled now, though we still have a few reserved spots that I'm still waiting for forms. Thank you to everyone who submitted a character!

Again, I'm so sorry if I didn't write about your character! It's hard fitting 35 girls into a chapter and I don't want to bore you all with a 50 page long chapter describing each and every encounter :P I really will try and include more girls in later chapters though!

Comment down below who you think should be Ben's first date, or any ideas for dates! I already have someone in mind but I'd love to see what you think :)

Until next time!

~Rysa


	6. Dates per Day

Ben had a plan.

Well, to be fair, it was a pretty crappy, hastily thrown together plan. But it was Marinette-approved, so he guessed it wasn't too bad.

However, in the morning, Ben figured he was probably going to botch his entire plan because he already failed the first step by 2 minutes; "Be on time for breakfast."

"Sorry for being tardy, mother!" Ben apologised breathlessly as he ran into the Great Hall, many of the girls giving him amused glances. "I slept late last night."

"I wonder if someone was on his mind?" Lauren whisper-shouted to Cassandra, not-so-discreetly. Next to them, Viera snorted.

Aaliyah nodded in understanding, and Ben took a seat, glad that his mother wasn't too angry with him. Then he realised it was most likely because she didn't want to lose her temper in front of the Selected. Marinette, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. "Of course you're late." To his relief, that was all she decided to say. Maybe Marinette really did understand him.

"Please, ladies, enjoy your breakfast," he said, as he looked around the table. Meals were so much more welcoming without AJ. A few of the girls smiled when he made eye contact with them, but for the most part they all seemed to be concentrating on their breakfast.

Ben served himself several pieces of bacon, two pieces of toast and a glass of peach juice (which Tori told him looked like pee) and ate his bacon sandwich, still looking around the table. He was still slightly unnerved that many girls were watching him as he ate, but he guessed it was something he needed to get used to in the Selection.

He mentally reviewed his plan for the day. As long as he followed the plan, he would be fine. Well, he wouldn't mess up too much, and Marinette wouldn't be mad. The rest was up to him.

As soon as breakfast was over and he had dismissed everyone, he approached Miriam before she had left the room. "Hey," he greeted. "I need to talk to you." He then could've smacked himself as he saw the expression in her eyes.

"Sure," Miriam said hesitantly. Dammit, he probably made it seem like he was going to eliminate her! "What do you want to talk about?"

Miriam might've been clueless, but the girls that passed them definitely weren't, and Ben saw a few of the girls glare at Miriam as they left the room. He made a mental note of who they were. "Oh, hang on, let's just wait for everyone else to leave first."

She nodded, though she still looked worried, and as his family and the rest of the girls filed out of the room, Vivian pausing to give Miriam a reassuring tap on the back, Ben quickly tried to think about how he'd phrase his invitation.

"Alright, so I heard that you're a very outdoorsy person," Ben said, and Miriam's face immediately brightened as she realised she wasn't getting eliminated. "How'd you like to go for a run?"

She looked so happy and relieved that Ben was immediately glad he'd chosen her to ask. "Sure thing! But um…"

Ben was worried. Was something else wrong now? Was she busy? Did she not want to run with him? "What is it?"

"I can't run in this," she said, gesturing to her long dress and shrugging, but there was a smile on her face.

"I can't imagine anyone running in that," Ben agreed. "Except maybe Marinette when the Prince of Germany visits."

Miriam laughed. "I'm guessing you can't run in that suit either?"

"Good point." An idea came into Ben's mind. "How about I meet you outside in a few minutes? That way we can both change."

Miriam agreed, and ten minutes later, Ben was waiting next to the running track in shorts and a T-shirt, impatiently waiting for Miriam and hoping she could find her way. He was relieved when she showed up after a few minutes in a pair of black leggings and a bright pink jacket, her curly brown hair in two braids instead of her usual low ponytail.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Miriam asked, looking anxious.

"No, it's fine," Ben reassured her, smiling. Then he gestured to the cameraman, who had just arrived and was standing at the side of the track. "Hope you don't mind."

She peered over at the cameraman, and shrugged. "I can get used to it."

He wondered if she was hinting that she didn't mind the royal lifestyle, then pushed that thought into the back of his mind. "Okay, good."

As they started running, Ben started to regret the date, because he realised quickly that Miriam had a lot of stamina and was fast. Really fast. Ben, meanwhile, had to run slightly quicker in order to catch up to her, and was already dying by the time they'd ran a full lap of the track.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself," he suggested, trying to ignore how tired his legs were starting to feel. God, he really needed to get more fitter, otherwise he would get embarrassed every time he went on a date.

"Well, I play the ukulele," Miriam said, and Ben remembered that she was from a family of Fives. "I live with my mom and my little sister, Rebekah."

Ben's legs were hurting like hell. "Are you and your sister… close?"

"Rebekah's the light of my life," Miriam explained, grinning, and he could tell from her expression that she meant it. "We're really similar, so we understand eachother."

Ben continued asking question after question, finding out more about her, until he couldn't handle it anymore. "Can we please… run… a little… slower?" he gasped.

Miriam burst out laughing and stopped running, much to Ben's relief. "Aren't princes supposed to be good at everything?" she teased, shoving him gently. "And yet you can't even run eight-hundred meters. Nice job."

"What I lack in stamina, I make up for in looks," he insisted, the run leaving him breathless.

Miriam smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"Hey!" Ben pretended to look offended.

Being with Miriam was fun, if not tiring, and after several minutes of rest, Ben felt recovered enough to run again. After some more laps (and pauses), the weather was becoming warmer and one quick glance at his watch told him it was nearing lunch time. When he retrieved a picnic basket from the bench, Miriam's eyes lit up, and they sat down together on the lawn.

"So what did the Great Prince Benvolio pack us for lunch?" Miriam asked, as she eyed the picnic basket.

Ben smirked and brought out two cheese and ham sandwiches, made of white bread and cut diagonally.

"Of all the things you could choose to eat at the castle," she joked, "You chose sandwiches?" Still, there was no denying the happiness in her eyes.

"It's not cheeseburgers," Ben admitted, and Miriam shook her head and laughed, "But it's still something."

"Oh, yes. Looking for someone who'll be a good cheeseburger, correct?"

However, he really managed to shut her up as he took two bottles of orange soda and two carefully-wrapped lemon tarts out of the basket, watching with some satisfaction as her eyes widened. "Prince Ben."

"Yes?"

Miriam broke into a huge smile. "This is officially the best date ever."

"Best first date," Ben corrected, grinning and reaching for her hand. She looked down at their adjoined fingers and her cheeks reddened slightly, or maybe it was just the sunlight playing tricks in Ben's mind.

"There's going to be more?"

He squeezed her hand gently. "Do you want there to be more?"

She nodded, giving him a shy smile. "Yes." He had been expecting that answer, but he was so happy to just hear it from her. Miriam was amazing, and was the type of person he thought he could spend the rest of his life with. It was a great start to the Selection and gave him hope for the rest of it. "But can we leave that for later? I'm getting hungry."

After a very enjoyable lunch, Ben dropped Miriam off at her door, promising to hang out with her again some other time. He was walking along the hallway when he nearly stepped on a brown tabby cat.

"Woah there, Belle!" he said, lifting the cat into his arms and patting her back. She stared at him through her yellow-green eyes and yawned elegantly. "Aren't you supposed to be with Mom and your kittens?" Then, he was suddenly reminded of the next part of his plan.

In a few minutes, he had changed into something else that he didn't mind getting dirty but was a little bit more formal than a T-shirt and shorts, and was knocking on a door.

"Hang on!" called a voice, and a few seconds later Leia opened the door. As soon as she met his eyes, she immediately curtsied. "Your Highness."

"Lady Leia." Ben smiled, interested to see how Leia would react. "Can you come with me for a minute? I want to show you something." He was glad to see that she was wearing a dress that wasn't too fancy, in case anything happened.

She looked a bit confused, but nodded. "Of course!" She closed her door behind her, and followed him down the hallway. "Where are we going?" she asked him, her curiosity obvious.

He didn't want to ruin the surprise, so he just grinned. "Oh, you'll see. I promise you though, you'll love it."

She grinned back. "I'll take your word for it."

However, she was clearly getting impatient as they reached the third floor. "Are you sure you can't tell me what it is?" she begged.

Ben paused next to his mother's room, and smiled. "Well, you're about to find out."

He pushed the door open and Leia's eyes widened. It was a sight to see, that was for sure. The queen's room was almost twice as big as the rooms of the Selected girls, even though the queen herself mostly spent her time in her husband's room or her study. There were several large windows on the walls, framed by deep purple curtains, and double glass doors leading to a large balcony. A large closet covered one end of the room, while a dressing table which doubled as a desk covered another. It had taken Ben a lot of effort to persuade his mother to let them into her room, and he was glad that there were no cameras around.

"This is the queen's room?" she asked, breathless. "It's beaut- OH MY GOSH!"

Scampering around the room were four kittens, old enough to wander independently but still young enough to look fluffy and cute. Leia sat down as they ran over and took one into their lap. As Ben sat down next to her, Belle wandered over, her head held high.

"I didn't know there were cats in the palace," she admitted, beaming as she cradled the kitten in her arm. The kitten, who was all white with yellow-green eyes, meowed softly.

Ben shrugged. "I guess it's not a normal thing for queens to be animal-obsessed." His mother had come from a family of veterinarians, and despite not following that path herself, her love of little critters had remained.

"Who doesn't love animals?" With her free hand, Leia started stroking Belle's back. "The kittens are so adorable, and she's so beautiful! What's her name?"

"Belle."

Leia smiled. "That's perfect."

Another kitten, who had his mother's brown stripes, pawed Leia's leg, meowing indignantly, and she giggled, gently setting down the other kitten and picking the new one up. "Aww, look at this one!"

"Hey, mind if I join?"

Ben spun around to see Tori standing in the doorway, and smiled, shaking his head. "Not at all. Come on in!"

Tori sat down next to Ben and started cuddling a third kitten, who had light brown fur. Their entire family loved the kittens (even though Marinette refused to admit it).

Looking at how happy Leia seemed with the kitten, Ben suddenly had an idea. "You can keep him," he blurted out.

Leia turned to him, her eyes wide. "What? Really? Are you sure? I mean, I'd love to, but I don't know if…"

"You can keep him," Ben repeated firmly.

Leia stared at him for a moment, then at the kitten in her arms. "I… Thank you!"

"You know," Ben began, "My dad actually gave Belle to my mom when she was in his Selection in one of their very last dates before he chose her." He smiled, then realised it wasn't probably the best thing to say.

"Following in your father's footsteps?" Leia asked, and her expression was unreadable. Ben could almost exactly understand what she was thinking about: Was he going to marry her as well?

He stiffened and quickly tried to change the topic. "We need to think of a name for him."

Leia looked down at the kitten, who stretched out a paw and batted Leia's hair. "What about… Ben Junior?"

"The kitten reminds you of me?" Ben asked incredulously.

She giggled. "Well, it's small," Ben frowned, "it's annoying," Ben frowned more, "and it's cute." Ben beamed at her.

Tori made a face, and he swatted her over the head. "Hey!"

Ben looked at the clock on his mother's wall and realised the time. Oh no. He had better find Marinette. "Do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

If Leia was a little put off that their date had ended so suddenly, she didn't show it. "Sure!" She stood up, still carefully holding onto Ben Junior, and they made their way downstairs, both of them silent.

"Thanks for today," Leia said, as they arrived at her door. "It was really fun, and I promise I'll take good care of Ben Junior."

"You'd better," Ben quipped. "I'll come and check on him once in a while just to see if he's doing okay."

"Oh trust me, he's in good hands," Leia assured him.

As Ben walked back to his bedroom, hoping to find Marinette somewhere so they could go over their plans for the next day, he became certain of one thing.

Miriam Whitewood and Leia Conrad were not going home anytime soon.

Hey guys! Extra long chapter for you today, seeing as I haven't updated in about a week. What do you think of this chapter length? Do you prefer the shorter chapters?

The next few dates will feature people who we haven't seen much of before, so don't worry! I hope I can manage to write dates for every single girl during the first two weeks of the Selection, but trust me, there's group dates and events coming up which will definitely give your girl a chance to shine.

What do you think of Leia and Miriam?

Until next time!

~Rysa


	7. A Flip in Perspective

Ira seemed pleasantly surprised when Ben came knocking on her door at five thirty in the morning. "Your Highness," she greeted, quickly running a hand through her messy platinum-blonde hair. "I didn't expect to see you here. At this time, no less.

"Just think about all the early mornings I have to suffer through," Ben joked. It was true, in a way. His mother had a habit of waking him up at the crack of dawn.

Ira raised her eyebrows. "You mean the early mornings where you arrive late for breakfast?"

Ben laughed nervously. "Well… maybe those early mornings were spent snoring in my bed."

There were a few awkward moments of silence where neither of them knew what to say next.

"So, why are you here again?" Ira asked, not rudely.

Ben facepalmed internally. Right. It would've have been a good idea to tell her. "Oh, I heard that you like cooking, so we're making pancakes."

Their previous banter forgotten, Ira's entire face lit up. "Really? That sounds awesome! I actually really like making pancakes, even though I'm not the best at the flipping part, then again not everyone's good at everything, and they're also delicious! But they taste the best with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Do you put chocolate syrup and whipped cream on your pancakes?" She stopped short as she saw Ben's face and realised she had been rambling. "Erm… do you?"

"Yeah," Ben lied. He had never tried it, but he wanted her to feel at ease. "You're not afraid to get that dress dirty, are you? I tend to spill things." He was wearing something rather simple himself, because he knew from past experiences that his suits would usually end up having flour and egg yolk all over them.

Ira looked down at the plain red dress she was wearing. "I think I'll be fine." He hoped that she wouldn't regret her words when she came back with ugly stains all over her clothes.

However, Ben realised that he hadn't needed to worry because as soon as they arrived in the kitchen, one of the cooks handed them both aprons. Ira received a plain white one, but for some reason Ben's was bright pink and had ruffles along the edge.

"Is this supposed to be an insult?" he asked the cook, while Ira cracked up laughing behind him. He did look like quite a sight with a frilly pink apron over his black collared shirt.

The cook smiled. "Your Highness, the queen specifically requested for you to wear this. I'm sure she has her reasons." Ben knew it had been a bad idea to ask his mother to alert the kitchen instead of himself. Though Aaliyah was usually strict, she still had a sense of humor. Ben just wished it appeared in situations which favoured him, such as the times when she yelled at him about being late for breakfast or meetings (every day).

Ben groaned. "Well then, I can't disobey my mother's orders, can I?" Rolling his eyes, he took his place in front of a countertop next to the cook. "Is there a recipe for pancakes anywhere?" The cook pointed a finger at the huge shelf of cookbooks, and Ben's mouth dropped open. "Um, maybe one that won't take us hours to find?"

The cook smiled again, and Ben decided that he liked this guy. "Of course! We have everything organised alphabetically, and categorised into specific sections, but in this case we've already prepared a simple pancake recipe." He hauled over a big cookbook and flipped it open to a page with a picture of pancakes (with chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top, he noticed), pointing to it triumphantly. "See? Pancakes. We've used this recipe for generations."

Ben smiled gratefully back at the cook. "Thank you…" He trailed off, not knowing how to address the cook.

Picking up on this, the cook quickly bowed. "Brock. Brock Lee."

"Thank you, Brock," Ben said, his smile widening. It was a shame he didn't get to spend much time in the kitchens. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the photographer enter the kitchen, and she gave him a small wave before settling down in the corner, ready to start clicking away.

Ira was reading the list of ingredients, and her eyes lit up. "This is really similar to the recipe we use back home. I like to add a little bit of cinnamon sometimes, and I use more milk." She turned towards Ben. "Have you made pancakes before?"

"Um, I'm not really a great cook," Ben admitted, and Brock chuckled quietly from behind him. "I made a cake once for my mother's birthday, a few years ago. Marinette's tried to teach me to cook on several occasions, but with no success. I did make some pancakes a few months ago though, when the French royal family came to visit. Chantal forced me into it." He broke into an awkward grin, recalling how the youngest French princess had dragged him by his tie into the kitchen (literally). "The flipping was the worst part." Chantal had been trying to show off her flipping skills and one of her pancakes had landed on Ben's head.

"The flipping's the fun part though," Ira insisted, giving him a small smile. "It's the best part of making pancakes."

"Mmhmm," Ben agreed half-heartedly. He still remembered the feeling of a heavy, scalding pancake landing on his head, and it wasn't something he wanted to relive anytime soon. "So what's the first ingredient?"

"Two cups of all-purpose flour," Ira read out, looking around the room. "Do you know where the flour is?"

Just as she finished her sentence, Ben placed a big bag of flour on the counter, then dusted his hands off on his shirt. He wasn't too familiar with the kitchen, but the bag had literally been sitting right next to the counter.

Ira laughed. She didn't laugh a lot, Ben noticed, and he was determined to make that change during their date. "Never mind."

The next ingredient on the list was baking powder, and seeing as Ben couldn't find any, they had to ask Brock for help, who immediately rushed back to them with a container of baking powder, and afterwards, the other ingredients they needed.

"First we need to mix the dry ingredients," Ira announced, pointing at the recipe. "That's sugar, flour and baking powder. Usually sugar's a wet ingredient though, but I guess we should follow what the recipe says."

Following the instructions, they measured out all the ingredients and Ira started mixing them together in a big bowl. While she was hard at work, Ben took it as a good opportunity to start finding out more about her. "So what do you do for a living?" He assumed she was a model because… Well, she was short but considerably good-looking. Not that he'd stared at her or anything.

"I'm an athlete," Ira admitted, pausing to brush a strand of hair behind her ear and smiling as Ben's jaw dropped. "I know, I know, it doesn't look like it."

Ben was all ready to deny it, but by her attitude he was guessing she was used to it and didn't mind. "What kind of athlete are you?" He hadn't been expecting her to be an athlete, since she didn't look very strong, but so far Ira seemed to be full of surprises.

"I compete in figure skating and archery," she explained as she finished mixing the bowl and set it aside, her eyes already scanning the room for eggs.

"Maybe we can go to the archery range together sometime," Ben suggested, holding out two eggs. Truth be told, he was still a little skeptical, and wanted to see her in action.

Ira's eyes lit up. "I'd love that. You had better be prepared though." She grinned mischievously and took one of the eggs.

"I hate cracking open eggs," Ben admitted, staring down at the egg in his hand. "It's disgusting. All that gooey stuff. I used to be scared of getting bits of eggshell into the mix too." Aaliyah's lovely birthday surprise had happened to be finding little bits of eggshell in her cake and spitting them out.

"In that case, here, have the honour of cracking open both of them." Ira placed the other egg into his free hand. "You have to overcome your fears, right?"

Ben groaned, but obediently cracked open the egg on the side of the bowl and watched the contents pour into it. "Eugh…"

Thankfully, soon he had cracked open both eggs without any bits of eggshell floating around in the mix and Ira was stirring again after adding the milk.

"There's a riddle I knew when I was really little about eggs," Ben said suddenly, and Ira looked up. "Something about having a golden heart, treasure, I don't really remember it."

Ira's expression was literally asking, _And that's interesting because?_ but she didn't say anything out loud.

"It talked about crystal fountains or something," Ben added, trying to redeem himself. "I'm not su-"

He was interrupted by a loud growling noise from his stomach, and they both burst out laughing, Ira very nearly spilling the bowl.

"Can you be a little faster? My stomach's getting impatient," Ben suggested, still laughing.

Ira rolled her eyes, but she was also giggling. "I'll try."

True to her word, she had the mix ready and the pan buttered in no time, and they were ready to start making the actual pancakes.

"That's gonna be a very big pancake," Ben commented, as Ira poured a bit of the batter onto the pan.

"I have a big appetite," Ira responded, giving him a smile. Looking down at her slim figure, Ben doubted it.

Soon, bubbles were appearing on the top of the pancake, and to Ben's surprise Ira passed the pan to him. "Flip it," she challenged.

Ben was pretty sure she wasn't expecting the pancake to fall onto the floor and then be stepped on by Brock, who was coming to check how they were doing, otherwise she wouldn't have handed him the pan.

"Oh my god, Ben!" Ira looked like she didn't know whether to be angry or amused.

And so he tried again, and attempt after attempt he failed, until finally he managed to successfully flip the pancake and have it land back onto the center of the pan. "I did it!" he announced, almost dropping the pan onto his foot with his excitement. And before he could stop himself, he placed the pan on the countertop, swept Ira into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I did it!"

Ira seemed a little shocked at the gesture, but instead of backing away like he expected her to, she stayed there, her cheeks slowly turning into a deep red as she smiled. After seeing her face, Ben quickly realised the awkwardness of the situation (especially because their aprons were both covered in flour) and drew away, a blush heating up his own face.

"Good job," Ira said, still flame-hued. "That's the first pancake out of fifteen that you haven't wasted." She grinned. "Keep up the good work!"

However, after the hug he seemed to have lost all capability of flipping a pancake, and after what seemed like an hour of wasting the batter, he lost his temper and threw the pancake upwards with all his might. And of course, the pancake got stuck to the ceiling.

Ben started yelling every swear word he knew at the ceiling while Ira, Brock, the photographer and the maids in the kitchen were laughing their heads off. However, after he'd worked his way through a variety of French curses, he turned around and saw Ira laughing and somehow felt better about himself. He liked hearing her laugh. It turned her from looking ladylike and refined into someone even more beautiful, if that was possible.

Goddammit, he had to stop!

The laughter was contagious and Ben felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards until he burst into laughter too. It wasn't every day you got a pancake stuck to the ceiling. However, his laughter was cut short as he felt something heavy and extremely hot land on his hair.

"FUCK THIS SHIT I'M OUT!" he roared, throwing the pancake off his head and slamming it onto the counter as Ira lost it and started crying with laughter. He took one look at the shiny fridge and his reflection wasn't very pleasant. His hair was completely messed up and oily, and were those little pancake crumbs he saw?

Running out of the kitchen faster than he ever had in his life, he found the nearest bathroom along the corridor and cleaned himself up until he finally decided that he didn't look too outrageous. He must have been there for quite some time because when he arrived back in the kitchen, everything had been cleaned up and Ira was sitting next to the counter on a chair with two plates of pancakes.

"You made these?" Ben asked, pleasantly surprised. Most of them looked perfect, except the one on top of his own plate which was a little wonky. He figured it was the pancake that he hadn't dropped on the floor. The other two must have been made by Ira though.

Ira nodded, beaming. "You did take a really long time, and I didn't want you to starve."

Ben was just about to take a bite when Ira stopped him. "Wait!" she said urgently, turning around and asking Brock something which he couldn't quite catch. Brock nodded in reply and walked away, returning with chocolate sauce and a can of whipped cream.

After covering his pancake in a decent amount of chocolate sauce and creating a swirl of whipped cream on top, Ira finally let him eat his pancake.

Maybe it was the fact that he'd made one himself, or that he was eating breakfast together with Ira, or maybe even because he had enjoyed their date, but it was the best pancake he'd ever had in his life.

* * *

OH MY GOD THIS TOOK SO LONG GUYS IM SORRY

I'm sorry if this chapter is total crap, you don't know how hard it is to let making pancakes seem romantic until you've tried :)

Next chapter will hopefully contain more than one date, since I've got a few lined up for you guys :) Some new characters coming in too! Who do you want to see next?

MissAmeliaYoung, let me know if you have any problems with the way I portrayed Ira, because I'm not sure if I managed to write her well. She's a great character :)

Until next time!

~Rysa


	8. Game On

For once, Ben didn't have a huge pile of work to do, and Marinette wasn't around to annoy him. However, without official documents to take care of, Ben was… bored.

And what better way to cure his boredom than to talk to his girlfriends? He hadn't scheduled any dates, but he should probably get to know them better. After all, he'd only gone on three dates so far.

He knocked on the door of the Women's Room as loudly as he could, faintly hearing the chatter inside. Less than a second later, all the noise vanished and the door opened to reveal Claire.

"Your Highness," she said quickly, dropping into a curtsy.

"Lady Claire," he greeted as he walked into the room and looked around. He'd given up on telling them to call him Ben. "What are you ladies up to right now?"

Some of the girls appeared to be on one side of the room, talking. A few others were sitting on the floor in a circle and seemed to be playing a board game. And unless he was mistaken, Lauren seemed to be painting Klara's nails.

"We're playing chess, Your Highness," Luna called out, from where she was kneeling on the floor next to Akita and Amethyst. "Want to watch?"

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt, he sat down on the floor next to them, hoping he wouldn't get his clothes too dirty. "Princes aren't supposed to sit on floors, but I guess I can make an exception," he joked.

Amethyst smiled. Ben usually wasn't someone to judge by caste, but wasn't Amethyst some popstar? She hadn't struck him as the type to hang out with the lower-castes. "You can blame it on us if anyone asks."

Akita looked at Ben before her attention returned to the board. "So how does the bishop move again?"

Ben then realised that the board had only been set up and they hadn't started the game yet. "Wait, you don't know the rules of chess?"

"It's my first time playing," Akita admitted, then smiled at Ben. "These two are trying to teach me the rules."

Truth be told, Ben hadn't played chess in a while. It was one of his favorite games, even though Marinette beat him every time. "Well, since it's your first game of chess, would you be interested in playing with the crown prince of Illea?"

Akita grinned. "It's on! But go easy on me, okay? I'm completely new to this."

Luna moved aside, and Ben scooted into position. "Here, I'll let you be white so you can go first."

After another brief explanation from Luna, the game started, and Ben quickly realised that Akita was observant. She took a long time to make her move, her eyes constantly flickering around the board. In fact, her pawn formation so far was looking a little better than Ben's, even if she constantly had to ask Amethyst how the pieces moved.

Still, Ben had years of experience, and within ten minutes he had moved his bishop and announced proudly, "Check."

His pride faded as Akita swiftly took out his bishop with her knight, and he swore under his breath. How had he not noticed that? He should've taken more time before sacrificing one of his favorite pieces.

"Yeah, go Akita!" Amethyst cheered, grinning.

Ben didn't know how, but after half an hour or so, he took out Akita's queen with his knight. "Ha! Take th-" He broke off as he realised how incredibly stupid he had been. "Oh my god, no, ple-"

"Checkmate!" Akita announced cheerfully. "I win!"

"Beginner's luck!" Ben protested, his embarrassment showing on his cheeks. He'd just lost to a complete amateur in the worst way possible.

"Pretty great for a first game, huh?" Amethyst elbowed Akita playfully.

Deciding that he'd probably get humiliated even more if he stayed with them, he looked around the room and groaned as he realised that just about everyone had witnessed his epic fail. "Sorry ladies, but I should probably spend some more time with everyone else. Kind of sad that thirty people can't play chess at once."

Then, the most brilliant idea of his life hit him.

"OH MY GOD!"

He practically ran out of the Women's Room, hastily saying goodbye before he left and ignoring their confused expressions. It would all be worth it the next day, because he'd just figured out exactly how he was going to spend the next morning.

He grabbed the phone in his room and entered a number. "Hello? Is this the palace decorator? The person in charge of painting stuff? Yeah, this is Prince Ben. I was wondering if…"

The rest of his afternoon was spent similarly as he ordered thirty-two shirts and a ton of huge stick-on name tags, getting extremely excited. Then he split the remaining Selection forms into two piles and all placed them on his desk in specific places, trying to decide everyone's roles.

By the time it was dinner, he wasn't even close to being finished, so he asked his valet Wilhelm if his dinner could be sent to his room.

"What would you like to eat?" Wilhelm joked, already knowing the answer. "Some pasta all'arrabiata? Or spaghetti carbonara? Perhaps you'd care for some lasagne al forno? Or-"

"A cheeseburger, Willy," Ben ordered, sighing exasperatedly. "With extra cheese." He wondered how Wilhelm remembered all those fancy names. He sure as hell didn't. What the heck was pasta all'arrabiata anyways?

"Don't call me Willy!" Wilhelm called, already out the door.

Ben rolled his eyes. In any other circumstance, he might've mocked his poor valet again, but this time he was too focused on his plan. And all his hard work and planning (well, not-so-hard work and not-so-detailed planning) would be well worth it tomorrow morning, when he was going to hold the best group date in the history of Selections.

Marinette's reaction at breakfast was priceless.

"You WHAT?"

"Keep your voice down, Mar!" Ben hissed, as all the heads turned in their direction. "It's going to be a surprise for them."

"You should've told me yesterday!" Marinette snapped, though at a much lower volume.

"But it's a good idea, right?" Ben asked, getting a little bit worried. What if the girls didn't find it fun? What if all his work was for nothing?

Marinette rolled her eyes. "It's an amazing idea. Happy?" Then her expression softened. "Seriously though, I'm actually impressed. I don't think anyone in history has thought of this before."

Ben smirked. "I know," he joked, earning himself a smack on the head. "Ouch! Mar! I really thought we were bonding!"

This time, half the table was actually staring at him, and he blushed. "Um, sorry. Go back to your eating."

"We're all done, you know!" Kaylee called out, and Olivia shushed her immediately.

Ben facepalmed internally, which seemed to have become a habit of his. "Alright, in that case, I have an announcement." He casually took a bag of blue T-shirts out from underneath the table. "Can the following girls please stand up?" He looked at his slightly smudged hand, where he'd hastily scribbled some names. "Viera, Irene, Nora, Sydney, Arylih, Adrienne…" He continued reading the list until half the table was standing up.

"Nobody is getting eliminated," he added quickly, seeing their expressions. Then he held up the bag of T-shirts. "Come here and take a blue shirt. Change into it. Wear some pants which you can move around comfortably in." He could hear some of the girlier girls gasping, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Same applies to those sitting down, but take a red shirt instead." He held up another bag. "Meet me here again within ten minutes."

He was feeling pretty proud as he left the bags on the floor and the girls all took shirts from their respective bags. Maybe his organisation skills were really improving. Even Marinette didn't say anything.

As soon as all the girls had left the room, including their parents and Tori, Ben tossed Marinette a red shirt. "Same for you," he said, narrowly avoiding being hit in the face. "Scram."

"Rude!" Marinette huffed loudly, pretending to be insulted as she walked out. Ben threw off his blazer, leaving it on the arm of his chair, and tossed on a blue shirt.

Luckily, he didn't have to actually wait for ten minutes, because the girls were all assembled within five. "Thanks for being so fast! Now would you all please follow me to the gardens?"

As he carried the bag of name tags with him and started walking towards the palace gardens, he could hear some of the girls behind him talking among themselves, and he knew they must've been wondering what he was doing.

"So what exactly is going on?" Sydney asked as she joined him at the front of the crowd. "Why're we going to the gardens?" She gestured to her blue shirt. "Why are we wearing these?"

Ben could only smile. "You'll see."

Sydney pouted playfully. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because we're here."

He stopped suddenly in front of a large patio area, and turned to face the girls. "Alright, I've been keeping you waiting long enough," he decided. "We're playing what I call 'People Chess!'"

Realising that nobody understood what he meant, he rolled his eyes and gestured to the ground, where there was a large checkered square painted to resemble an actual chessboard (only much bigger, of course.)

"Wait, is this like Giant Chess?" Fleur called out, looking puzzled.

"Sort of," Ben replied, shrugging. "Basically it's a game of giant chess, but everyone's a chess piece. The kings of each team, me and Marinette, are mostly in charge and direct what to do, but the other team members are welcome to help."

"So do we choose which chess piece we want to be?" Nora asked from the side, looking impressed.

Ben laughed. "Nope! I spent all my free time yesterday planning this entire thing. You'll do as I say." Everyone groaned, especially Marinette. "Alright, so everyone in a blue shirt is on my team. Obviously. The ones wearing red are on Marinette's team. I've got a ton of name tags here to show what chess piece you are. As for what chess piece you are, you can find out by looking at this paper here." He held up a piece of paper, which all the girls immediately swarmed around.

"Yes, I'm a rook!" Akita cheered, sticking the name tag which said "ROOK" in Wilhelm's neat handwriting on her blue shirt.

"Lucky!" Luna commented, also taking a name tag. "I'm a pawn. At least I'm also on Ben's team." She smiled in his direction, and he reminded himself to schedule a date with Luna soon, seeing as they hadn't talked since their initial encounter but he wanted to get to know her.

"You guys are going DOWN!" Adrienne said enthusiastically to everyone in a red shirt. Ben smiled. He'd tried to even out the playing field, as well as choosing girls who he hadn't interacted a lot with for his team, but he was extremely happy with his decisions.

As soon as everyone had a nametag on, they made their way to the chessboard, where Marinette gave a quick explanation of the rules to anyone who wasn't completely sure. Then they took their places. Ben, being the king, was standing between Viera and Nora, and he was going to make sure their team did not lose.

"We get first move!" he announced cheerfully, as everyone on the opposite side of the board groaned.

Nora nudged Ben with her elbow. "Move the pawns into a zigzag," she suggested quietly. "It's a foolproof formation."

"Didn't know you were much of a chess player," Ben remarked, as he surveyed the "chessboard". Nora had a point, however, so he tapped Kaylee, the pawn furthest to the right, on the shoulder. "Move forward one step."

As soon as Kaylee had moved, Marinette also sent out one of her players, and the game started that way. A few moves later, Ben had all his pawns in a zig-zag shape, and he turned to Nora again.

"What now, genius?"

"Knights," Nora responded immediately.

Ben nodded, realising that Nora was good at this, and turned to his left. "Arylih!" he called, "Move to C3!"

Arylih gave Ben a mock salute before moving. From Marinette's team, one of the rooks, Amethyst, took a few steps, and the game continued.

Many minutes later, Ben was getting into the full swing of things. Three of his pawns (Fleur, Lauren and Klara) had already been sacrificed, as well as Irene, one of his bishops, and Arylih. However, Marinette's team was also missing two of its pawns, and Ben had successfully taken out both their knights, Olivia and Claire.

His moment of glory as he castled, switching places with Akita, was short-lived as Blair almost viciously knocked Sydney to the side, but his team quickly returned with Viera, his queen, stealing Lisa's spot as the red bishop retreated unhappily.

"What about we call it a draw?" Ben asked after what seemed like an hour of Nora commanding him to move around. One wrong move and Marinette's team would win. One wrong move on their part, and he'd win. Only Nora, Akita, Luna and Kaylee remained on his team.

"Nev-" Marinette began, but her teammates quickly shushed her.

"Come on, Your Highness, this is going nowhere," Olivia, a knight, told her, looking frustrated. Ben smirked; Marinette was being put in her place by one of the Selected! He could see it all over the headlines the next day. "We've been going back and forth in the same positions for ten minutes!"

"Wait, really?" Marinette asked, turning around to look at Olivia. She sighed and glared at Ben. "Fine. It's a draw."

They shook hands formally, and then everyone around the chessboard erupted into cheers.

"Team hug!" Ben shouted. He immediately regretted it as fifteen girls in blue shirts suddenly swarmed around him, but they all huddled together in a wide circle, and he could practically feel the happiness radiating in the air. "Was that the best group date of your life?" he asked, his smile wide. Then he realised it was probably the only group date they'd had so far.

"Yeah!" they all yelled.

"Except the part where I got kicked out," Irene muttered under her breath, causing Kaylee to elbow her playfully.

"Did you all enjoy it?"

"Yeah!"

"Am I amazing?"

He was met with an awkward silence.

"If that's what makes you happy, sure," Nora joked, and Ben groaned, looking down at the ground.

"Why am I stuck with you bunch again?"

"Because we're your thirty girlfriends!" Arylih reminded him cheerfully.

Adrienne was grinning widely. "You love us!"

Looking at all their smiling faces, Ben felt as if he was right at home, surrounded by people who cared about him. It was the best thing that had happened since the start of the Selection, and he knew that all of them would hold a special place in his heart forever.

* * *

OKAY GUYS, IS THIS CHAPTER THE WORST THING YOU'VE EVER READ OR WHAT?

Worst ending ever, my apologies about that, I didn't really know how to end the chapter XD

I'm really sorry, but I had a little case of writer's block while writing this.

This is one of those ideas that seems AMAZING in your head, but when you actually type it out... not so much :(

Sorry for anyone who hasn't played chess or isn't too big a fan of the game, hope you can still enjoy the chapter! :)

Next chapter will include some proper dates (which I was originally going to make this chapter oops)! Comment below who you want to see! I've got one date already planned out, but for the rest I might just listen to the reviews :)

Until next time!

~Rysa


	9. In Perfect Harmony

Ben both loved and hated his twin sister, but what he couldn't deny was that she was extremely smart.

Instead of fitting thirty dates into one week, Marinette had given him the genius idea (which he wished he'd come up with) of having dates with multiple girls who had similar interests. ("That way you can talk to more girls at once and use up less time! See, it's perfect!")

And that was how Ben found himself standing in front of a music room close to the Women's Room, wondering if Fleur and Selina had received the invitation he'd sent about an hour ago. His watch told him that there was one minute left until ten o'clock, but there was still no sign of either of them. Were they that busy?

He wasn't one to judge, seeing as he arrived late for almost everything. However, a part of him was still a bit disappointed that the girls weren't showing as much interest in their date as he was. He'd gone out of his way to be on time for all his dates so far, and it was tiring.

Three minutes later, the door of the Women's Room finally opened, and as Fleur and Selina walked out, Ben let out a relieved sigh. Finally, they'd shown up.

"Sorry we're late!" Selina apologised as they walked over to him, a guilty expression on her face. "We lost track of the time."

Ben smiled. "It's alright. I wasn't here for that long either." Unless you counted eight minutes as a long time.

"So what are we doing?" Fleur asked curiously. Ben figured they'd already guessed, seeing as he'd asked them to come to a music room.

"Well, both of you are musicians," Ben began, opening the door, "and I wanted to hear you ladies perform, so I borrowed some instruments!"

Fleur's expression instantly brightened as she saw the cello propped against the wall. Once at dinner, she had told him that she missed her cello, and he'd asked the royal orchestra if he could borrow one for a few hours. The grand piano sitting in the middle of the room and a guitar placed on a chair caught Selina's attention, and Ben remembered her saying that she played the violin as well.

"What about you, Your Highness?" Fleur asked, as she grabbed the cello and sat down on a chair. "Do you play any instruments?"

Ben grimaced. "I'm not a really musical person. My parents made me take piano lessons a few years ago. Didn't turn out too well."

Selina shoved him lightly towards the piano bench. "Play something!" she suggested.

He froze. "I'm not sure that's a good-"

"Please?" She fixed her stare onto him, her light gray-purple eyes half covered by her cherry-brown bangs. Ben had no choice but to sigh reluctantly.

"Fine. But it'll be a short song."

Selina grinned as Ben sat down on the piano bench. Lifting the lid of the piano, he felt butterflies in his stomach. He hadn't played piano in months, and he was a little worried he was going to mess up and embarrass himself. After all, he might end up marrying one of them, though that idea freaked him out.

He decided to play the simplest song he knew, and began singing under his breath. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"

"How I wonder what you are," Selina joined in softly.

"Up above the clouds so high," Ben continued, sharing a smile with her.

"Like a diamond in the sky."

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star…"

"How I wonder what you are."

Unable to help it anymore, they both started laughing. "Really?" Selina asked, rolling her eyes. "That's, like, the easiest song ever!"

"And yet you played it so terribly." Fleur shook her head, causing her white-blonde braid to whip from side to side. "I see what you mean now. My apologies, Your Highness, but you're a terrible musician."

Ben agreed with her, knowing that music wasn't in his blood. After all, the last member of the royal family who wasn't tone-deaf had been his grand-aunt, Magnolia Schreave.

"Oh, come on, Fleur, he's not that bad," Selina protested, though her tone said otherwise. "He just needs some practice."

"A few years of practice, yeah," Ben piped up, and she grinned at him.

"Exactly."

Fleur rolled her eyes. "Well now that we've heard your atrocious piano skills, how about we show him something, Selina?" She picked up the cello bow, twirling it around in her fingers. "You said you were a fan of Firework?"

Selina nodded enthusiastically, and within seconds they had both started playing a song that Ben had heard many times by one of the most popular bands in Illea. "Hey, I know this one!" he announced, and started to sing along with her.

Fleur was truly an amazing celloist, and Selina's piano-playing was a thousand times better than Ben's. However, what really struck him was Selina's singing, clear and melodic, and after a few verses he became a little quieter in order to hear more of her voice. She quickly noticed this and gave him a quizzical look, so he began singing normally again.

They worked their way through Firework's latest album, and he was completely out of breath once they'd finished the last song, though he still had a huge grin on his face.

"That was so fun!" Selina exclaimed, beaming at both of them. "Fleur, your cello playing was so beautiful!" Fleur smiled, bowing her head in gratitude. "Ben, your voice isn't half as bad I was expecting."

Ben pretended to be offended. "Excuse me?" Then he smiled. "Honestly, I was completely wowed by your singing. You should totally be a popstar! Can you sing something else?"

Selina blushed, looking embarrassed. "Do I have to?"

"Please?" Ben begged, trying the same staring trick she'd used on him earlier, and Selina groaned playfully.

"Well, there's actually this one song that I've been working on," she admitted, looking down at her feet. "But it's not that good…"

"Sing. It." Ben crossed his arms, trying to look as stern as possible.

Selina sighed, shaking her head, but picked up the guitar. "Like I said, it's not finished, so I'll just sing a little piece of it."

He had thought nothing would be able to top her previous singing, but when solo, her voice sounded even more powerful. Even Fleur suddenly seemed more alert when Selina opened her mouth.

"The days line up… To tear you down… I'd be so strong… If I knew how…"

Ben felt himself drifting away, entranced by her song. The guitar chords added to the harmony of the entire piece, and Selina's voice was a stirring, angelic sound. As he listened to her, all his worries seemed to wash away, and everything else vanished from his mind. He would have no problem sitting there for another hour, as long as she just kept on singing.

"How, how, how to be flawless…"

Selina trailed off, her fingers pausing on the neck of the guitar. "I know it's not much, and I'm still-"

"Are you kidding me?" Ben reached forward and took hold of one of her calloused hands, gazing intently at her. She blushed, but didn't pull away. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever heard! You sounded so beautiful."

Selina looked up, and for a moment, everything around them faded away as her light gray, almost purple eyes met his blue ones. Selina was truly talented, and he could almost picture her as a queen, with the passion she put into her singing used instead on ruling the country. He resisted the urge to move closer to her…

…Because a second later, Fleur sneezed, causing Ben to jump and break away.

"I should get going," Selina admitted, glancing at the clock on the wall. "It's almost eleven, and I promised Sydney and Miriam I'd go running with them."

"I see." Ben grinned, remembering how his date with Miriam had gone. "Good luck. Miriam's got quite a bit of stamina."

Selina smiled back, before walking out, and Ben turned to Fleur as the door swung shut. Seeing her upset expression, he frowned. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I didn't get to talk to you as much."

Fleur shook her head quickly. "No, I'm fine. It's just… Selina's so talented, and the entire time I was sitting here, wondering how I would ever outshine someone like her."

Ben took Fleur's slim hand. "You don't need to outshine her. Being yourself is more than enough."

She forced a smile. "Not really. There are so many amazing girls here, and they're all so competitive. I barely stand a chance. Sometimes I feel like I should just leave."

"Don't!" Ben said quickly. "Look, how about I make it up to you next week? We can spend some time together by ourselves. Nobody else, no competition. Just us." He was terrified at the thought of someone leaving before he even got to know them.

Fleur seemed to think about this for a while, then sighed. "Alright. I'll give this a chance." She stood up. "I have to go now. I'll see you at lunch."

"See you," Ben said, half focused as he'd already started thinking about ideas for their date. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, actually, I won't be at lunch-"

But it was too late, as Fleur had already walked out the door. He sighed, sitting back down. Was the competition really so fierce that people like Fleur thought they had no chance? He really hoped he'd be able to persuade her to stay.

For now, he had a lunch date with Odonata Kapoor to look forward to.

HEY GUYS!

So because I just got a pinterest account and I've been obsessed recently, I thought I might make a pinterest board for this story! If you have a faceclaim for your character, or someone you envision as her, let me know in PM, so I can add them to the board! :)

Guests: Let me know in the reviews who you think might be good for your characters! (PS, I think Karen Gillan makes a perfect Selina, and I don't know why but Klara always brings Dianna Agron to mind! Of course, I'm fine with whoever you decide)

If you don't have a faceclaim for your character or can't find one, that's okay too, but let me know if you do!

My pinterest is the same as my FF (pinterest rysaspirit), so if you want to see how the board's coming along, that's the place to go! I'll also create a separate board for all the outfits and hairstyles once we get more into the story!

There's also a poll on my profile right now with who you want to see next chapter, with a few options! I don't think I'd be able to fit all the girls from the reviews into one chapter, but I will definitely include more voting opportunities in the future!

If any of you are wondering, the song Selina sang is "Flawless", which is a song from World Scholar's Cup (which I attended this year because I'm one of those poor people still stuck in my school years). Give it a listen, it's actually pretty good :) Firework is a made up band, let's say it's the "Choosing Yesterday" of this generation. There's also another band coming into the story soon, but I won't say too much about it yet :)

Sorry that this chapter was a little shorter than usual!

Until next time!

~Rysa


	10. Love at First Bite

Ben could hear Odonata's maids before the door even opened.

"Oh my gosh, he's here!"

"Pass me the hairspray, quick!"

"She looks fine, Kamri, leave her alone!"

"Wait, should she wear the turquoise dress instead?"

"The shoes don't match! Is there a pair of sandals anywhere?"

He tried to stifle his laughter in case they heard him, but it was amusing listening to the maids being so agitated. Wilhelm was definitely calmer when it came to situations like this. Not that he ever needed his valet to help him look his best.

A few shouts later, Odonata opened the door, looking flustered. "Prince Ben! Thanks for coming."

Ben was temporarily taken aback at how stunning she looked. No matter how loud her maids were, they definitely deserved some credit. She was clad in a midi-length orange dress with a silver flower pin at the waist, which contrasted with her golden-brown skin, and her wavy black hair had been let down.

"I said I would, didn't I?" he responded, holding his arm out to her, which she took hesitantly. "You look beautiful, by the way."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Thanks. You're not too bad-looking yourself."

It was Ben's turn to feel uncomfortable. None of the Selected girls had properly complimented him until now. He supposed he could get used to it.

As they walked out of the palace and into the royal gardens, Odonata seemed to grow excited, looking around at the greenery. "Wow. This is stunning."

"You haven't had a chance to see the gardens yet?" Ben asked, surprised.

Odonata shook her head. "Most of the time, we're in the Woman's Room, or having lessons with Katelyn."

This was news to him. He made a mental note to tell the royal planner, Katelyn, that the girls should be given some free time to wander around the palace. After all, it was their home for these few weeks.

A round table with two chairs had been set up, and they sat down.

"What are we eating today?" Odonata asked curiously, looking at the many covered dishes set on the table.

Ben shrugged. "I don't actually know." Seeing Odonata's alarmed look, he grinned. "I just asked one of the cooks to prepare the most extravagant, romantic and delicious five-course meal he could within a few hours." Brock hadn't been too happy with the time limit, but had gone to work right away, and Ben knew he could trust him.

"Five… Course... Meal?" He couldn't tell whether the look on her face was from excitement or shock. "Do you typically eat five course meals around here?"

"No," Ben admitted, laughing. "Usually we settle for three. Only on special occasions. Let's see what the first course is!"

He lifted the lid of one of the dishes, which was labeled "First Course", and Odonata's expression changed again. Sitting on the plate were four bite-sized pancakes, but they were nothing like the ones he'd made with Ira. Each one had a dollop of white cream and a spoonful of bright red caviar.

Odonata looked like she was having trouble finding words, which Ben found amusing, even though he was wowed himself. "What is this?"

"Chickpea blini with lemon mousseline and wild salmon caviar," Ben read aloud from a label on the dish. "I have no clue what half those words mean, but I know it'll be delicious."

And it was. Ben knew he'd have to thank Brock properly later, because it was one of the best things he'd eaten in his life, almost topping cheeseburgers. The blini (which he figured was a fancy word for a pancake) was still warm in contrast to the cold and creamy lemon mousseline, and the salty caviar filled the bite with extra flavor. He had no idea what the rest of the meal could hold, but he was excited.

"Shrimp quenelles in shrimp bouillon," Odonata read aloud as they looked at the second course, two bowls of pale orange liquid with things resembling oval meatballs floating around. "Is it just me, or are all these names ridiculous?"

"However fancy the names are, the soup has to be good," Ben said, picking up a spoon. He turned out to be correct; the meatball-things (or quenelles) were made out of shrimp puree and were fluffy and cloudlike in his mouth. The soup was equally good, but it wasn't the type of soup he wanted to drink quickly, so he decided to find out more about Odonata as he spooned more into his mouth, trying to savor it.

"Odonata is a unique name," he commented, as she looked up. "Is it Latin or something?"

"It's the order name for dragonflies," she explained. "My parents are entomologists, so they named my brother and I after insects. You can call me Nat, if you want." Ben wasn't actually sure what an entomologist was, but he guessed it had to do with insects.

"Nat," he repeated, nodding as he took another sip of the shrimp bouillon. "So, Nat, do you like dragonflies?"

She shrugged, looking far more at ease than the beginning of their date. "They're alright. I like most insects, but my favorites are beetles."

Ben casually refrained from saying that he despised all bugs, and remembered the scarab beetle pin she'd given him at the beginning of the Selection, which he had kept on his bedside table. "I heard there's a butterfly emporium in Sonage which recently opened. Maybe I can take you there sometime." Butterflies were insects, right?

Odonata blushed, though she was smiling widely. "That would be great."

He continued talking to her while they were eating their third course, chanterelle risotto. The risotto was creamy and flavorful, but he was more interested in Odonata's story and very nearly spat out a sticky mouthful of his risotto. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yep!" Odonata said cheerfully, grinning. "I got thrown out of the park, all because I was trying to collect some leaves for my pressed plant collection! I was terrified at the time, but now that I look back on it, it's kind of funny, really."

"I can hardly imagine some park worker shooing you out," Ben joked, and then started telling her about the time Marinette convinced him that he was adopted as they started their next course, roasted duck.

His story turned out to be longer than he thought, and he was just wrapping it up as he uncovered the final course, excited to see what sort of dessert Brock had prepared.

"What the HECK?"

Odonata looked down and burst out laughing, almost dropping her fork.

Sitting in front of them was a giant brown swirl which he figured was supposed to resemble… something not so appropriate for a meal. It looked extremely realistic and he wasn't sure what Brock had been thinking.

"I think it's chocolate ice cream," Odonata offered, and Ben sighed in relief.

"Oh, yeah, you're right. It's probably chocolate ice cream." He shook his head, picking up his dessert spoon. He had been full after the roasted duck, but now he wanted to try the poo-swirl as well. Besides, how could he ever say no to ice cream?

The both of them finished it surprisingly fast, and Ben was completely full as he placed his spoon back down on the table and leaned back. "Oh my god, I don't think I'll eat anything for a week."

Odonata nodded in agreement, groaning. "My stomach… It was completely worth it though."

Ben stood up, a little disappointed that their meal was over so quickly (or not quickly at all, he realised, after a glance at his watch told him it had been over an hour).

"Well, it was a pleasure having lunch with you, Nat," he said, smiling broadly. "I'm afraid I have somewhere to be right now, but I enjoyed our time together. Feel free to stay in the gardens longer, and to take any leaves you want." Odonata giggled. "I guess I'll see you around."

She gave him a little wave, and he walked back to the palace.

Odonata was definitely a kind girl, but he wasn't sure he'd really felt a connection. However, that was mostly likely because he hadn't gotten to know her very well, and he figured he'd have another date with her after he'd gone on a date with everyone.

His thoughts broke off as he nearly bumped into someone. At the last second, he quickly took a step to the side, narrowly avoiding Viera, and her wavy brown ponytail almost smacked him in the face.

"Your Highness," she said immediately, dropping into an elegant curtsy. "I'm so sorry."

Ben shook his head. "It's fine. I was actually going to your room." He broke into a smile. "Are you busy right now?"

"I'm really bored," Viera admitted, then grinned. "So I'm up for anything. Are we going for a date?"

Ben nodded, causing her to smile even wider. "It's a surprise, but you're going to love it. Are you ready to go?" She was wearing a dark red dress which was suitable for what he had in mind, so there was no need for her to change.

She was, so he led her to the garage, where King Julien's chauffeur was waiting next to a plain-looking white car.

"We're leaving the palace?" Viera asked, looking both surprised and excited. "Is that allowed?"

"It's just to Sonage," Ben explained, as the chauffeur opened the car door for them. "Have you ever been there?"

"A few times during my Swan Lake tour." She sat down in the back of the car, and Ben took his seat next to her. "I've never been anywhere other than the Sonage Theatre though."

The chauffeur started the engine, and they sped out of the garage and out into the Angeles streets. "So, where exactly are we going?" Viera asked.

"Well, you just mentioned it."

Viera's eyes widened as she realised what he meant. "Wait, we're going to the Sonage Theatre?"

From the pocket of his blazer, Ben fished out two tickets. "There's a special performance this afternoon of 'Romeo and Juliet', and I figured you might be interested." From the way Viera's entire face lit up, he knew she was.

He personally didn't know much about ballet or the story. However, he wanted to make Viera happy, so he'd bought two VIP tickets for the performance.

After half an hour of being stuck in traffic, the car stopped outside a large building, and Ben stepped out, offering his hand to Viera. "There's still a few minutes until it starts. We'll go in through a side door to avoid the crowds."

Viera raised an eyebrow, but still followed him through one of the theatre's side doors. Once they were inside, a theater employee walked up to them.

"Your Highness," he greeted, bowing. "It is an honour to have you and Lady Viera here today."

"The pleasure is mine," Ben responded smoothly.

The man gestured for them to follow him up a few flights of stairs, until they were at a balcony with two plush red chairs.

"Wait, we get our own private balcony?" Viera asked in shock, looking around the theatre. Below them, people were sitting down in the rows in front of the stage. From their balcony, they had one of the best views, directly facing the stage.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Of course! Come on, I'm a Schreave! We're all about that private balcony."

"Too worried the public will see your face?" she teased.

That stopped him. Being the prince, he wasn't really allowed to interact with any normal people. He'd always wondered what it would be like if he had grown up as any old guy instead of the crown prince of Illea who half the country hated. It was one of the things he secretly liked about the Selection; he had the chance to meet thirty-five new people and learn about the outside world, and in turn, they would be given a sneak peek into royal life. However, only one of them would make it.

"Something wrong?" Viera asked, looking worried as he met her hazel eyes.

He shook his head quickly, forcing a smile. Then something caught his eye. "Oh, it's starting!" He was thankful for the distraction as Viera spun around to stare intently at the stage.

Ben quickly realised one thing; he was not a ballet person.

While Viera was completely captivated by the dancing and barely glanced at him throughout the entire performance, he was fighting his boredom. He didn't understand how people were able to raise their legs so high, or balance only on the tips of their toes. Didn't it hurt? Who in their right mind would want to devote their life to cruel exercises and harsh training, only to jump and waltz around for a few minutes?

Romeo and Juliet turned out to be a love story. (What a surprise. What else could it be?) It was about forbidden love, from what he could make of it, but he found it all a little stupid. Love at first sight didn't exist. Why would Romeo and Juliet risk their lives to be together with someone they'd had one conversation with? Why did the two families hate each other so much? Couldn't they just get along and be fine?

For some reason, AJ floated into his thoughts, and he frowned. Maybe his earlier thoughts had been wrong. Some people just weren't destined to like eachother.

There was a scene where Juliet didn't want Romeo to leave the city, and he almost laughed out loud. The entire thing was so unrealistic and farfetched. Real love was nothing like that.

 _How do you know what real love is?_ a small voice in his head nagged. _You've never been in love. Caprice hardly counts._

He looked over at the back of Viera's head, and sighed to himself.

 _But that's what the Selection's for, isn't it?_

 _Finding love?_

As the performance ended and everyone started clapping, Viera turned to him, her eyes shining.

 _By the end of this, I'll know what love is._

 _I'll be the king of Illea._

 _And one of these girls is going to be my queen._

* * *

Guys, I'm going to Maldives for a week, and I'm not allowed to bring my computer, so there won't be any new chapters :/ I will still be able to reply to PMs and stuff though!

So the winners of the poll were Amethyst, Viera and Elliana! Because I didn't want to squeeze four dates into this chapter I chose to only do Viera's date! Next chapter will have Elliana and Amethyst's dates, as well as one final group date before the report! :)

Most of Odonata and Ben's five course meal came from Quora and various other websites because I'm super unimaginative when it comes to food XD

Fun fact about Ben: his real name, Benvolio, is actually a character from Romeo and Juliet, so I thought it would be fitting for them to watch it XD

If you guys like SYOCs and submitting characters as much as I do, one of my friends Xana (bibliographicfangirl) recently started her own SYOC, Reign! There's tons of spots available and y'all should go fill them up :)

It was also drakel19088's birthday a few days ago, and she has an amazing SYOC, The Making of History. I think there's still a few spots left, and even if there aren't, you should definitely go read it because she's one hell of a writer and the plot's really interesting!

Like always, reviews are really appreciated, especially constructive criticism

Until next time!

~Rysa


	11. Heartfelt

Ben was really regretting his decision to let the guards leave them alone as the people swarmed him and Amethyst in the middle of the park.

"Oh my god, it's really you! I'm dreaming!"

"Amethyst! Can I get your autograph?"

"Are you going to marry her?"

Amethyst seemed unfazed by the attention, and was signing autographs and blowing kisses to all the little girls. Ben, however, was a whole different matter.

"Your Highness!" a voice called out loudly. "Have you-"

Ben silenced the girl with a glare, and she quickly backed off. He turned to Amethyst. "Can we move along? I wanted to look at all the flowers."

Amethyst looked a little regretful to be saying goodbye to all her fans, but nodded.

"So, Lady Amethyst-" Ben began, but was quickly cut off.

"Please, call me Amy."

"Amy," he corrected, looking nervously around him in case there were any cameras. "What's your favorite flower?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Well, I like amethyst flowers. For obvious reasons." She smiled.

Ben didn't even know amethyst flowers existed, so he called over a worker at the park and asked if they had any.

"Oh, you mean browallia speciosa?" the girl asked excitedly. "We call them bush violets around here. We have some potted ones in the greenhouse, near the heater!" She dashed off through the park and they followed quickly. Thankfully, most of the crowd stayed behind.

The girl opened the greenhouse door for them, and the warm air swept over Ben, making him feel uncomfortable. The greenhouse was filled with plants, but she led them over to a section of potted purple flowers.

"These flowers need a lot of warmth," the girl began. "They grow best in partial shade." She continued talking, but Ben didn't pay much attention, instead choosing to observe the flowers. They had small purple petals, the same shade as Amethyst's dress, and dark green leaves. An idea suddenly popped into his mind, and he turned to the girl.

"Do you have any seeds we could take back to the palace?" he asked her. She grinned and picked up a small pouch from next to a pot. Ben weighed it in his right hand before handing it to Amethyst, who looked surprised.

"For me?" she asked, breaking into a smile. "Um… Thank you."

After thanking the girl, they left the greenhouse, much to Ben's relief. There was a small breeze outside which was a nice change compared to the warm, stuffy greenhouse. Unfortunately, the crowd soon swarmed them, but Amethyst quickly ameliorated the situation.

"Please, the weather is lovely today. Don't waste your time talking to us. Go enjoy the park!" she said cheerfully, and gradually the people drifted away.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked, turning to Ben, who shrugged until he caught sight of something next to the path.

"Amethy- I mean, Amy! Look at these!" He practically dragged her to a stand, where an elderly lady was selling flower crowns of all different colors and styles.

"How much are they?" he asked excitedly, and the lady gave him a warm smile.

"You can have one for free, dearie," she said kindly, gesturing to the many flower crowns.

Ben's eyes widened. "No, please, let me pay you."

"You run our country," the lady told him gently, her smile never wavering. "It's the least I can do."

Ben was shocked. His approval ratings just a few weeks ago had shown that the public heavily favoured Marinette, yet here was a complete stranger giving him a flower crown for free. Perhaps his twin sister had been right, like usual; the Selection had made Illea appreciate him.

"Thank you," he said, truly grateful. He felt a little bit guilty that he, one of the richest people in all of Illea, was accepting a free gift from a streetside seller who probably didn't earn much, but he couldn't refuse her kind offer. He turned to Amethyst. "Which one do you want?"

Amethyst spent the next few minutes trying on each and every flower crown, asking Ben for his opinion every time. The white blossoms and dark green leaves looked gorgeous on her fiery red locks, but the turquoise ones flattered her blue-green eyes. Eventually, she settled on a green headband with all sorts of purple fabric flowers, and Ben helped her tie the white ribbon behind her head.

"You look beautiful," he told her. The flower crown was true to her name and the lighter shades went well with her darker dress. She was practically glowing with happiness.

They spent the next hour walking around, observing the trees and flowers, as well as the crystal-clear lake in the middle of the park. Because it was the middle of April, many flowers were in bloom, and they sat down together on a bench, watching the many children play around in the field of colorful tulips.

"Ben?" Amethyst began suddenly. She was looking down at her hands, which made Ben a little nervous.

"Yes?" he asked, not sure what to expect.

To his surprise, all she said was a simple, "Thank you."

Ben shrugged. "It's no big deal. I figured you might want to come here, since the nature is-"

"No, not that." Amethyst looked him directly in the eye. "It's just, this whole Selection is such a big deal. It wasn't my choice to sign up."

Ben swallowed down the insult that was about to come out of his mouth. Was she asking to leave? For a moment, he didn't know how to respond, which was good because she hadn't finished.

"But when I came here, I saw the amount of work you put into this. You barely have any free time, and you're doing your best to go on dates with all of us. I didn't know you, so I didn't know what kind of person you are. But now, I've met the real Prince Benvolio. You're truly an amazing person."

He was sure his cheeks were as red as a cherry tomato. "I'm not that amazing..."

Amethyst shook her head. "Before, I used to dread the life of a royal. I didn't want to be a part of this. But after seeing all the hard work you do for your country, and how much you care about us… I guess I've started to change my mind. All I'm saying is, I'm not sure if I care about you, but I definitely want you to give me a chance."

Ben reached out and took her right hand. "Then I'll give you a chance."

* * *

"Lady Elliana?"

The blonde girl sat up straighter, looking startled. "Huh?" She looked around, then blushed. "Oh, sorry, I… was thinking about something else."

"It's fine," Ben reassured her, though inside he was a little frustrated. It was the fifth time she had spaced out during their date, and he couldn't help but wonder if something was upsetting her. "Is anything wrong?"

Elliana stayed silent for a moment, then sighed. "Actually, there is."

Ben waited for her to continue. While he did, he noticed that her fingers kept tracing the outline of a puzzle piece shaped tattoo on her wrist.

"I… I didn't sign up for the Selection myself."

 _Here we go again,_ Ben thought bitterly.

"I… I really don't mean to offend you, Ben, but… I had a boyfriend. We were together for two years."

She was using past tense, so Ben knew instantly that something must have happened.

"My mom… She's always wanted me to be a model, and when I didn't, she didn't approve. She didn't approve of Adam either."

Aha, so that was mystery guy's name.

"We were engaged. We were going to get married next month."

Ben raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding her struggle. She was going to be married to a man she loved when she had been sent to the palace instead to pursue someone she had never met. Even though he hated the thought of someone not entering the Selection willingly, he was filled with sympathy.

"My mom entered me. I didn't even know until my name was on the screen. And Adam… When he came home, he was upset. He thought it was because I didn't want to be with him anymore. It wasn't true, I wanted to be with him forever. He broke up with me."

Elliana looked up and stared at Ben, and he was shocked to see that her bright blue eyes were brimming with tears. "Do you want to go home?" he asked gently. "To make things right?"

She bit her lip, then shook her head. "He hates me now. I know this is asking a lot, Your Highness, but… Do you think you could let me stay in the palace until I figure out what to do? Please? I'm so confused right now, and I honestly don't know how to get over Adam."

Ben hesitated. Here was a girl who had just admitted that she didn't love him and never would, and was only using the Selection as an escape. However, she was a girl whose heart was broken and had to get over her boyfriend who she was about to marry. He felt sure that Marinette would scold him later, but his feelings got in the way of logical thinking.

"Of course. You're one of the thirty-five Selected now, you can stay here for as long as you need to. I didn't expect every single one of you to be in love with me, so it's no problem."

As Elliana thanked him and excused herself, he started thinking about her story. Elliana had been deeply in love with someone, yet they had been separated because of a simple misunderstanding and could not be together.

He hoped that one day, when he found his queen, there would be no misunderstandings. As selfish as it sounded, he wanted to be happy. And he wanted to make one of the girls at the palace happy as well.

He knew that he would be happy with one of them, and he would be in love.

He didn't know who it was, but he was determined to find out.

* * *

Hey guys!

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. Like I said in my previous update, I was in the Maldives. Have any of you guys ever been to any tropical islands? I went snorkeling and kayaking for the first time and it was really fun.

I'm making a playlist for this story because it's really hard for me to find inspiration sometimes oops and I almost always have writer's block. Currently it's up on my profile and if you have any other songs you'd like to recommend just PM or review them!

Next chapter will have one final group date, and after that will be the Report! I will do my best to include all the characters that haven't been given much (or any) spotlight time so far, so stay tuned for that!

Until next time!

~Rysa


	12. Dinner Disaster

The evening breeze circled the palace gardens as Ben stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air. He'd spent the entire day investigating European conflicts, and the only thing that had kept him going was the group date he had scheduled, which had finally arrived.

Around the garden, the girls were all milling around. The majority were standing by the tables, covered with a piece of white fabric and dishes full of food. He hoped nobody would spill anything on the tablecloth, otherwise his mother would freak out.

"Your Highness Prince Benvolio Amadeus Sigfried Schreave! How kind of you to grace us with your presence at last."

Unable to help himself, Ben broke into a grin. "Kaylee Kimberly Keyes! We meet again."

Kaylee tossed her golden blonde high ponytail out of her eyes, returning the grin. "You prepared a lot for this dinner party. It's pretty nice."

Ben frowned. "Pretty nice? I was going for fantastic."

Though he'd only known the girls for a few days, Kaylee was easily one of his favorites. She was fun to talk to and he didn't have to worry about messing up around her. They continued their banter for a while longer before someone stepped in between them.

"Kaylee, you don't mind if I talk to the prince for a few moments, do you?" Klara asked sweetly. Kaylee looked frustrated, but she nodded and left him alone with Klara.

"Try the grilled bass, Ben!" she added, before leaving.

Klara raised an eyebrow. "What's that about?"

"Oh, nothing," Ben said dismissively. "Inside joke." He eyed Klara up and down, and immediately regretted it, because she was wearing a shimmery golden dress that barely reached her fingers, showing off her long pale legs, which also had a neckline deeper than he thought was necessary. He forced himself to concentrate on her face.

Klara pursed her lips. "I see," she said delicately, before giving him a smile. "Were you very busy today? You didn't come see any of us."

Ben nodded, feeling guilty. "I had a few official documents to take care of. I hope you all aren't too upset with me."

"Oh, of course not!" Klara shook her head. "It's your job as a prince. We should all respect that, because after all, you are the next ruler of Illea. The person who'll rule by your side should understand that you have your duties."

Ben wondered if she was hinting that she wanted to be queen. He'd definitely have to keep that in mind. "Yes. I'm so glad you understand. What's your profession again?"

"My parents are lawyers, Your Highness," Klara explained.

"Interesting. Well, I'm afraid I have to go talk to the other girls, but if I have time later tonight we can continue this discussion." He probably wouldn't seek out Klara again unless she changed into something less distracting, but he wasn't sure she was completely capable of that task.

"I look forward to it, Your Highness," Klara replied smoothly, curtsying as best as she could with her extremely short dress. Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes and walked off, looking around the gardens.

He spotted his next "target", who was currently eating a chocolate muffin on a bench. As he approached her, he noticed that he was almost a whole foot taller than her. She looked up mid-bite, and smiled welcomingly at him.

"Dessert already?" he joked, gesturing to the muffin in her hand.

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Please. It's a snack."

Ben sat down on the bench next to her. "There are plenty of other options. Why a chocolate muffin?"

She frowned. "Are you dissing my chocolate muffin?" Her tone was dead serious, but there was a mischievous glint in her stormy gray eyes that let him know she was joking.

"Maybe," Ben said playfully. "Try the macarons. We requested them specially for this party. They're a rarity."

Andromeda looked over at the colourful French cookies, nodding thoughtfully. "I'll do that right this second and let you know if they measure up to my standards. Thanks, Your Highness." She stood up and left before Ben could even get a word out, and he frowned as he stared at the back of her white dress. Even though she was only the third girl he'd talked to that night, she had been the first to dismiss herself. He brushed away his hurt; he was being ridiculous.

Picking up a chocolate muffin himself, he made his way to where three girls were standing by the fountain with their backs facing him, deep in conversation. "Excuse me," he began, causing them to turn around.

Thankfully, he recognised all three of them. "Lady Sydney, Lady Arylih and Lady Eliza."

Eliza beamed at him. She was wearing a knee-length mint halter dress, and silver hoops were dangling from her ears. "How are you today, Your Highness?" She seemed far more at ease than she'd been in their private conversation, and he was happy to know that she was doing well so far.

Ben let out a sigh. "I would be fine if it weren't for the work my father gave me." There had been unrest between Germany and Poland, and he had been given the wonderful task of investigating the matter. On top of that, New Asia was as hostile as ever, though he suspected that having a New Asian girl in the Selection was temporarily putting them at bay. He noticed said girl out of the corner of his eye and decided he would have to talk to her later when the cameras were close by.

"What does your work involve?" Sydney asked curiously. Her dress was somewhat similar to Eliza's, but was a more vibrant green, matching the eyes hidden behind her thick black glasses. Her dark red hair was in a side braid, with a few strands sticking out. Looking at her more closely, Ben suddenly felt that he had seen her somewhere before, but wasn't entirely sure where.

"You don't want to know," Ben joked, then his tone became more serious. "I think I recognise you from somewhere. What's your profession?" In fact, something about her was extremely familiar, and he knew the memory was in his mind, but it just wasn't surfacing.

Sydney looked excited. "Oh, I'm a circus performer in the Starling Brothers Traveling Circus! Your family came to watch one of our performances a few years ago. There were guards everywhere! Do you remember?"

The memory hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he had a clear picture in his mind of Sydney dancing with a few tigers. "Yeah! I do, actually." They shared a smile, Ben feeling glad that his memory hadn't failed him for once.

He turned to the last of the three, Arylih. "And how's your night going, Lady Arylih?" She was dressed in a casual purple dress, with detailing along the top, and her dark brown hair was in a wavy ponytail.

"It's just Arylih," she insisted with a sweet smile, "and the night has been nice so far. Though a little boring." She shared a look with Sydney that Ben had often seen on Tori, and he groaned.

"You're not planning on pulling a prank at my dinner party, are you?"

Arylih shrugged, the smile never leaving her face, and only then did he notice the twinkle in her dark green eyes and pray that they had nothing too drastic planned. "I'm not promising anything."

Ben was just about to warn her against it when Sydney spoke. "Was it hard to plan a dinner party? Because this is really awesome. The food looks really delicious and it's a good way to socialize."

"Well, actually, Marinette helped me plan this," Ben admitted, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "But it was my idea!" he insisted, as all three girls stared at him. "And I organised the food and stuff."

"Hey, speaking of Marinette, isn't she over there?" Ben followed Arylih's pointed finger and saw his twin sister talking to one of the photographers and laughing.

He rolled his eyes. "Take it easy, Marinette. Prince Friedrich might get jealous," he said to himself. Seeing the confused expression on the girls' faces, he decided it was a better time than ever to excuse himself. "Sorry, ladies, but I've got to talk to everyone tonight. It was lovely getting to know you better."

He walked away, already knowing who he was going to talk to next. It didn't take a lot of trouble for him to locate the girl serving herself a plate of rice and curry.

"Still eating the orange stuff?" he asked, causing the girl to nearly spill the plate as she turned around in surprise. Her dress was almost the exact same color as the food, just a little brighter.

Miriam grinned. "It's delicious. You really should try some." She grabbed a plastic spoon from the table and held the plate under his nose. "That is, if you don't mind a little spiciness."

Ben scoffed loudly. "I'm the prince of Illea." He took the spoon and plate from her hands, trying desperately to ignore the sudden fluttering in his stomach when their fingers brushed. "If I can't handle spicy food, how can I handle thirty-five girls?"

"You can't," Miriam told him matter-of-factly. "But apparently eliminating five on the first day makes it easier." She crossed her arms, giving him a triumphant smile. "Now eat."

He ate a mouthful of the curry, surprised by the spiciness. He'd lied a little when he said he didn't mind spicy food, but it was flavourful and not as bad as he'd been expecting. "It's good," he told her, then added quickly, "but only good. Nothing more." As he handed the plate back to her, he dared to ask a question which had just popped into his mind. "So what's your obsession with Thai food?"

"My best friend is Thai," she explained, and he could tell instantly that Miriam cared a lot about her from the way her face lit up. "Her name's Syburi. She lives next door, so I go to her house a lot. Her mother's an amazing cook."

"What's Syburi like?" Ben asked curiously. He'd never met anyone from Thailand before due to New Asia's unfriendliness towards Illea, so the most he knew about them was their food.

Miriam grinned. "She's so annoying and crazy, and she has the worst possible sense of humor."

"Sounds like you," he couldn't resist saying. "No wonder you two are close."

"Ouch," she muttered sarcastically. "Well, I'll be getting back to my meal now, if all you're going to do is insult me."

Taking that as his cue to leave, he mimed breaking his heart and then walked off, determined to talk to every single girl at least once during the whole group date. There were some girls he didn't know too well yet, so those were his priority. He was on the other side of the gardens when he realised he still had a plastic spoon in his hand. Cassandra Hunters noticed this as well.

"That's an interesting accessory, Your Highness," she remarked dryly. "Very fashion-forward."

Ben grinned, though he still felt a little bit embarrassed. "It's a new trend. The plastic spoon." He placed it on his head, not caring if he was making a fool of himself. Sacrifices had to be made if he was going to impress all thirty-five of the girls. "Are you going to join me, Lady Cassandra?"

"You'll get curry and spit on your hair," Cassandra told him, then grinned back. "But because I'm more sensible, I'm going to take a clean spoon." She made her way towards the nearest catering table and was back in a few seconds balancing an identical plastic spoon on top of her shoulder-length black locks. Her light green eyes were sparkling. "And, please, call me Cassie."

"Cassie," Ben repeated. At first the impression he'd gotten of Cassandra was formality, since she was the only girl wearing pants, but he was relieved to know she could have fun too. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for the blonde girl who walked by them in a white dress, glancing at them disdainfully.

"Well, someone has no sense of humor," he muttered under his breath.

Cassandra laughed politely. "That's typical Olivia. She's probably the most proper out of all of us. Always lecturing us on our manners."

He rolled his eyes. "I have Marinette for that."

Suddenly, someone bumped into him from behind and he stumbled forward, nearly hitting Cassandra as his spoon landed on the floor. A wave of embarrassment washed over him as he realised that he'd actually placed a spoon on his head, and he hoped the cameras hadn't caught any of it. What had he been thinking?

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!" a voice apologised quickly, and he turned around to see the New Asian girl, Lauren. His breath hitched in his throat; if Klara's dress was indecent, hers was otherworldly. A slit in the long red dress showed off her legs, and the top half only just covered her chest. "It's fine," he said quickly, righting himself and giving her an awkward smile.

"I'll leave you to it, Ben," Cassandra said, her smile looking more like a grimace. She took the spoon off her head and left, probably to find a trashcan.

"How was the first week of the Selection?" Lauren asked, smoothing down the wrinkles in her skirt.

Ben let out a small laugh. "You're one of the competitors, shouldn't you know?"

"Things are always different from another perspective," she told him seriously, though not without a flirtatious smile. "And I'm curious, Your Highness. How did you feel about this week?"

"Well, it was hectic," Ben admitted, causing Lauren to giggle. "But it was also fun."

Lauren nodded thoughtfully, then grinned. "Want to spend some time together next week? I promise it'll be more fun than any of the other dates so far."

Ben raised an eyebrow, a bit stunned at her confidence; she was the only girl to have asked him out, and it made him a bit uneasy. Wasn't he supposed to be the one doing the asking? "I'll see if I can fit it in my schedule."

"I look forward to it," Lauren said boldly, before turning around and sauntering off with a flare of her skirt.

He let out a relieved sigh; Lauren was, frankly, very intimidating. He decided to check out the food on the table to clear his mind off hot Asian girls. One girl seemed to be inspecting a plate of seafood, and he approached her, deciding to kill two birds with one stone.

"Impressed?" he asked.

The girl laughed. "Nah. My family's seafood restaurant makes much better squid than this."

For some reason, her name wasn't magically springing to his mind, even though he remembered talking to her in their interview. Seafood restaurant… Seafood restaurant… He was almost certain she was from Clermont, but he just couldn't remember the letters in her name.

"This isn't bad, though," she remarked, picking up a paper plate. "The palace chefs are incredibly talented." Seeing Ben's confused expression, she grinned. "Oh, I'm Lilianne, by the way. Must be hard to keep track of everyone's name."

"You have no clue," Ben admitted, peering at the squid. "I've never tried squid before. We never have it for dinner."

"Really?" She looked surprised.

"I eat pretty much anything though," Ben added quickly.

A challenging gleam appeared in Lilianne's eyes. "Think you can eat more squid than me?"

Half an hour later, Ben clutched his stomach as he stumbled onto a chair, groaning. "Oh my god…"

"That was a terrible idea," Lilianne agreed, holding a hand to her mouth. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"And you ate twice as much as I did," the crown prince muttered bitterly, looking around for his sister. "Marinette! MARINETTE!"

The much more sensible sibling took one look at Ben and shook her head. "What the hell, Ben?"

"Lilianne's idea," he offered weakly, causing said person to scowl.

"Let's get you to your room before you throw up," Marinette suggested, taking one of his arms and pulling him up.

"Marinette, n-" Ben was cut off in mid sentence as a wave of nausea hit him, and he turned away from Marinette, throwing up onto the previously spotless floor.

Lilianne gagged as everyone in the entire dinner party turned to stare at them, and he hung his head. He was pretty sure he'd just humiliated himself in the worst way possible, and in front of his girlfriends, no less. They would never let him hear the end of this.

"Okay, party over!" Marinette announced loudly, stopping all the girls from coming nearer with a glare as she shoved Ben back onto the chair. She huffed loudly, her anger practically radiating off of her.

"Do you just have to screw everything up?"

* * *

Hey guys!

This chapter took a pretty long time to write, mainly because I was obsessed with this new talk show, but it's finally here XD

Sorry about the crappy ending for this chapter. I wasn't really sure how to end it, so that's the best I can do for now.

I believe there's still seven or so characters who I haven't introduced, but I will be sure to let them have an opportunity during the Report chapter!

If you haven't already, there's a poll on my profile asking which girl you like the best out of the ones that had dates up to chapter 11! I'm curious to see what you guys think.

Next chapter will be the much awaited Report! If you have any ideas for what your character might say about Ben or the Selection in general, feel free to leave it in a review.

Until next time!

~Rysa


	13. Public Approval

It had been almost twenty-four hours since his accident at the dinner party, but Ben's shame was still weighing down on him. He refused to meet any of the girls' eyes or even look around the Report set, his gaze fixed firmly on his hands. He didn't necessarily want to ignore the girls, but he could practically imagine what they were thinking. _I want to go home! What kind of a prince throws up in the middle of a party? That was so disgusting!_

"Your Highness," a female voice said, forcing him to look up. It was Blair, one of the girls he hadn't talked to last night.

Ben didn't want to be rude, so he tried to smile, even though he was sure he was about to receive a lecture. "Lady Blair. Are you nervous for the Report?"

She completely ignored his question. "I know you're embarrassed about last night, and if I was in your position I would be too. We may be judging you silently, but it's not the end of the world. We're the ones who signed up for the Selection, for different reasons, and one little mistake won't make us change our mind."

She returned to her seat in the second row of girls, leaving Ben's mouth hanging open. It was like she'd read his mind and dispelled all his worries. He just hoped that Blair's words were true.

"Are you ready?" Edvin asked.

Ben hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

As Edvin told the cameramen to prepare to broadcast, Ben looked over at the thirty girls and suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. To make space for the Selected, Ben was the only member of the royal family on the Report. His parents were talking to each other animatedly next to the makeup artists, Marinette was talking to the same photographer from the dinner party and Tori was sitting on the floor. For the first time in his life, he wished Marinette was with him.

"Starting in three…"

Ben adjusted his tie nervously. He'd chosen a green one to seem bold, at Wilhelm's suggestion, but now he was wondering if he should have gone for a more formal one.

"…Two…"

Blair gave him an encouraging smile, and he relaxed. He'd been on reports before, he was going to be fine. He refused to think about what would happen if he messed up.

"…One!"

Edvin instantly turned into his Report host mode. "Welcome to the Illea Capital Report! I'm your host, Edvin Althuis! Today, we have thirty very special guests, the Selected!"

Immediately, there was lots of cheering and clapping from the audience, as all the girls waved. "I'm sure you're just as excited to get to know them as I am," Edvin continued, a practiced smile on his face. "So let's get right to it! Lady Claire!" he held his microphone in front of a girl in the first row. "What do you think of the Selection process?"

"It's an excellent way to find a queen," Claire said confidently, beaming. "And for us girls, it's such a wondrous opportunity! We meet others from all over Illea who are just like ourselves, but also pure opposites!"

Edvin nodded his agreement. "It is, and I can see why you enjoy it!" He turned his attention to the girl next to Claire. "Lady Elodie?"

Elodie smiled at the camera. "It's really quite a historic process, but it's worked in the past, and I'm sure this one will be no different."

Lisa, one of the Sevens in the competition, sighed dreamily as she was asked about the food. "It's more than I could ever dream of." Next to her, Adrienne nodded her agreement and mentioned the pumpkin soup, which she was apparently a fan of.

Edvin continued moving on through the three rows of girls, and Ben took the opportunity to observe them. They were all wearing gorgeous gowns, with their hair done up, and they looked fantastic. Even Cassandra, who was being asked about the Selected rooms, was wearing a dress, though it was a plain black halter with little detailing.

His eyes were just wandering over to the slit in Lauren's cobalt blue dress when Edvin's voice startled him. "Lady Ira. What do you think of the prince?" He immediately swivelled in Ira's direction, curious to see what she would say.

"The prince? Well, Prince Ben's a very special person. He really knows how to have fun, and with all of his busy work he still finds time to plan things for us that will make us happy. It's been amazing getting to know him," Ira said, causing a light blush to form on his cheeks.

"Have you been on a date with him, Lady Ira?" Edvin asked curiously.

"Actually, I am one of the lucky few that have," Ira admitted. "We made pancakes together. I'm sad to say that Prince Ben's cooking abilities could use some improvement."

A large burst of laughter rang out from the audience, and Ben peered behind him to see a picture of himself on the big screen with a pancake on his head. All the girls were staring at the picture and giggling, and a few laughs escaped him.

"Yes, quite a lot of improvement," Edvin agreed, also chuckling. "It sounds like you've enjoyed your time with the prince?"

"It was an amazing experience. I look forward to spending some more time with him in the future." Ira gave Ben a huge smile, and he couldn't help but grin back.

"Thank you, Lady Ira. Let's see... Lady Akita. What's your favorite thing about the Selection so far?" Edvin found his next target in the brunette in the third row.

"Well, I have to say, I love the entire experience," Akita gushed. "My maids are so talented, and everything is so luxurious. But if I had to choose one thing? I've always loved relaxing in baths, but the palace's bubble baths are truly amazing. Don't you think so, Edvin?"

"Ah, yes, I always enjoy taking bubble baths on particularly stressful days," Edvin agreed. "And you, Lady Miriam?"

"The palace gardens would have to be my favorite." Ben nodded in agreement. "They're spectacular. Prince Ben and I went for a run together one morning, and the nature was incredible."

Edvin looked shocked. "You had a date with the prince?"

"I was the first date, actually," Miriam confessed. "It was very fun and we had a picnic later in the gardens, with all my favorite foods."

"Okay, just to be clear, raise your hand if you've been on a date with the prince!" Edvin told the girls, and a flurry of hands shot up. He turned to Ben, eyes wide. "That's quite the bunch, Your Highness! You must have been very busy this week. Lady Odonata! What was your date like?"

The Indian girl smiled shyly. "We had a little conversation over lunch, out in the gardens. He offered to take me to the butterfly emporium sometime, so I'm looking forward to that."

"Lady Viera? What happened in your date?" Edvin asked the ballerina, who was clad in a ruffled turquoise dress.

"He took me to see a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet." Viera brushed aside a loose strand of dark brown hair from her face, smiling sweetly at Ben. "I'm a professional ballerina, and I think it was really sweet of him to do that for me, even if he was bored to death the entire time."

The crowd laughed appreciatively as Ben turned red. He didn't realise Viera had noticed his disinterest in ballet, but he was thankful that she wasn't upset about it.

"Looks like we had quite a variety of dates this week!" Edvin said cheerfully. "What do you have in plan for the future, Your Highness?"

Ben sat up straighter, not expecting the sudden question but fully prepared to answer. "Well, I'll be spending some time with the people who I haven't talked much with. Expect some group dates, and possibly an elimination."

Edvin's eyes widened. "An elimination! Hear that girls?" He leant closer to Ben, as if asking something private. "Tell us, Ben, what are your expectations for your wife? What are you looking for in a partner?"

The question had him stumped as he stared at the girls. He didn't know how to answer without offending anyone or making anyone act differently. They were all such different girls, but they already had a place in his heart. He decided to go with the truth. "To be honest, Edvin, I'm not sure. But what I do know is that I'd be happy spending my life with anyone onstage right now. I've gotten to know these girls, and every single one of them is special in their own way."

Edvin nodded. "Very well said, Your Highness. I think I speak for all of Illea when I say that I am looking forward to watching the rest of the Selection. Well, that concludes this Report! Tune in next week to see what went on in week two of the Selection! This is Edvin Althuis, and you're watching the Illea Capital Report."

Ben took a deep sigh. For one of the first times in his life, he had managed to get through an entire Report without making any mistakes. Perhaps it was the girls giving him confidence, or maybe the Selection had really taught him to be more responsible, but for whatever reason, he was proud of himself.

He just hoped the rest of the Selection ran as smoothly.

* * *

"They're out already?"

Marinette tossed the magazine at Ben. He sat upright, picking it up from where it had landed on his bed, and peered at the cover page while grabbing himself a cookie.

"At least it's not another article about how incompetent I am," he muttered to himself as he stared at the headline, _What Goes On Behind the Palace Walls?_

"I don't know why you're unhappy," Marinette said, staring pointedly at him. "The public's taking well to your Selection. Everyone's speculating about the Selected, and there's even a poll with the top ten girls."

"Really?" Ben flicked through the pages of the magazine, _Illea Weekly_ , before coming to a stop at an article that read _Prince Ben's Selection; Who's YOUR Elite?_ Accompanied by a large visual showing the poll results, there were pictures of ten of the Selected as well as a large paragraph describing each and every girl.

"Who got in?" Marinette asked curiously, looking over his shoulder.

Ben showed her the magazine while continuing to read. The ranking was in descending order, and at tenth place, Viera's hazel eyes stared up at him. Her wavy dark brown hair was in a high ponytail, and he assumed the picture had been taken after the girls' makeovers.

 _The elegant Viera Rostova definitely had a lot of fans rooting for her! This Russian girl has an amazing body and is a real beauty, one of the main reasons of her international fame. She's an exceptionally talented ballerina, but is a dancer all there is to her? Of course not! Our dear Viera is both witty and positive, as shown on her Report appearance and conversations with fans. Though she's only tenth place for us, we won't be surprised if she turns out to be a favorite!_

He nearly laughed as he read Lauren's ninth place paragraph, sure the writer had never talked to Lauren in her life.

 _Lauren Cho is a definite spotlight stealer with her stunning appearance! Officially the fourth-prettiest girl in the entire Selection, she sure knows how to flaunt her strengths. Many of Lauren's fans come from the group of New Asians living in Illea, so her heritage gives her a sure advantage. The daughter of New Asian diplomats, she definitely has experience and will know how to run this country and become a queen._

Thinking back to how sweet Luna had been during their initial conversation, he was surprised that she had only scored eighth place, but he figured it had to do with her caste.

 _You would have no clue that the lovely Luna Arvin is actually a former housekeeper if you simply looked at her! Though not a model, she definitely has a beautiful face, and an even more beautiful personality! She's calm and considerate, and we've yet to see her without a smile on her fine features! We're curious to see what our prince thinks of her, and if he thinks of her as dearly as we do!_

Lilianne's picture reminded him of the dinner party, and he suppressed a groan. It wasn't really her fault, and she was a fun person. He supposed that she deserved the seventh place paragraph that had been written for her.

 _Though we've only known who she is for less than two weeks, we already adore Lilianne Sebban. She simply brightens up the mood everywhere with that attitude! Being half French and a quarter Asian but considering herself Illean, she's definitely unique. The Sebban family's restaurant in Clermont has always received high praise, but will Lilianne be the same? We're eager to see how far she makes it!_

Ben couldn't help but smile as he saw Fleur's picture for sixth place. He hoped she would find this article because she deserved to know how much the public adored her.

 _Next on our list is another French girl, the cellist Fleur Delevie! Her French background would definitely help to strengthen the connection between Illea and France if she wins, but that's hardly the point. Not just an amazing musician, she's also extremely focused and devoted, her family tells us. With that amount of passion, can't you just picture her as the queen?_

Klara's fifth place position hardly surprised him. She came from a good caste and definitely knew how to charm others.

 _Starting off the top five is the contestant from Lakedon, Klara Flitie. With her blonde hair and long legs, she could definitely be a supermodel if she wasn't a Three! She certainly knows how to dress to impress, and her best friends have described her as a bubbly and fun person. There's nobody else in the Selection quite as bold and proud of herself as Klara!_

Ben decided that Cassandra definitely looked better without a spoon on her head. She was giving the camera a radiant smile and it was no wonder she had been chosen for fourth place.

 _Fashion designer Cassandra Hunters definitely knows how to make an impression! Her friends tell us that she's very dedicated in her work, and we can see it has taught her a thing or two about how to dress well! Can't you just see her with a crown on her head? Wouldn't she make a wonderful queen?_

He'd known Amethyst was a famous popstar, so it was no surprise that she was in the top three favorite Selected.

 _Everyone's heard of Amethyst Dawns, and it's no wonder that she's the most famous person in the Selection! Many loyal fans have been supporting her and are delighted to see this new side of her she's kept hidden for very long. We think she totally rocks the flower crown look as seen in some pictures of her and Ben on a date, and many girls have started wearing similar flower crowns to show their support for her! We love you, Amethyst!_

Ira's paragraph mentioned her career as a figure skater and archer, and he decided he definitely needed to see her in action sometime soon.

 _Only losing to our first place girl by the smallest margin, Lady Ira Kingsley is definitely the one to watch out for! She's a statuesque beauty, but don't let her looks fool you! A famous archer and figure skater, this girl is not to be seen as weak or foolish. Will Ira live up to her last name and become a royal?_

And aha, what he had been waiting for. Who did the majority of Illea want him to marry? It came as a surprise; the girl from the dinner party who Cassandra had described as polite, Olivia Meyers. He had barely spoken to her during the entire week, but he knew he would have to soon.

 _Last but certainly not least, our favorite is the hometown girl, Olivia Meyers! Definitely the queenliest out of the entire competition, we're expecting her to make it far! Illea would definitely thrive if she ruled! Does our prince share the same opinion as us? We'll have to see!_

Ben reread the last few sentences to himself, then shook his head. "Marinette, get me some pen and paper."

"Do I look like your valet?" Marinette demanded, but grudgingly walked over to his desk and tossed him a notebook and pen.

Settling into a more comfortable position, Ben began to plan his dates.

* * *

Hey guys!

Ugh, sorry this chapter wasn't my best, I got occupied with quite a few character forms. I hope you all won't get too bored of the many dates to come in the next few chapters! I promise there'll be some action soon ;)

What do you think of the top 10 girls? This isn't my personal opinion, I just thought these girls would be the most favored by the public. Maybe next time I'll have an actual poll on my profile for you to decide! For now, go and vote which girl you like best out of the dates before chapter 11, and I'll replace it with a new one sometime soon :)

Reviews are always appreciated! Especially constructive criticism, I'm always striving to improve my writing because I know it's not the best.

Until next time!

~Rysa


	14. Let It All Out

After reading the magazine article, Ben had been hoping to relax for the rest of the day. He ordered Wilhelm to bring him breakfast and took his seat as his desk, sorting through the Selected forms. He'd divided them into three different piles. At the edge of his desk were the few girls who he had already gone on dates with, and in the center laid both the girls he was interested in and those who he wasn't so keen on. As he ate a piece of mango he flicked through his notebook, going over his schedule for the week. He wanted a full day of rest before he began going on dates after dates.

Unfortunately, his mother had other ideas.

"Honey, there's a pile of documents in your father's office which you should take a look at later!" she announced as she poked her head into his doorway, surprisingly cheerful. He had no clue why, but he decided not to ask about it.

"Mom!" he protested. The queen simply chuckled and ventured off, and he decided that his mother was definitely not normal today. He trudged downstairs to the king's office after finishing a platter of fruit, ready to tackle whatever his mother had prepared for him.

Unfortunately, he had not been expecting an entire mountain of paperwork, and the sun had already set by the time he'd read through and signed the last piece of paper. He returned to his room, determined to get a good night's sleep so he would be refreshed and energised for the next day.

His first date of the week was right after breakfast, and he stopped Adrienne as she was leaving the room. "Lady Adrienne," he greeted, placing a hand on her arm. "Could you stay behind for a minute?"

Her green eyes shone with anticipation as she nodded, gesturing for Elliana to go on without her. As several of the girls passed Adrienne, they looked curiously at her, and he noticed that some of their expressions were less than pleasant.

"What are we doing?" Adrienne asked excitedly once everyone had left the dining room.

"Biking," Ben responded simply, causing Adrienne to beam. "You can go change, and I'll meet you back here in half an hour. How does that sound?"

She agreed, so he met up with her half an hour later in the dining room. She had changed into a loose white blouse and a pair of olive green shorts, showing off her long model legs. He found it somewhat amusing because it was the first time he'd seen one of the Selected wearing shorts. Her long wavy blonde hair was in a braided undo and she was wearing a pair of leather sandals. It was the most casual outfit any girl had dressed in, but he decided that he definitely liked it.

He led her to the palace grounds, where a large tandem bike was standing. Adrienne gasped loudly and turned to him with her eyes wide. "You didn't tell me it was a two-person bike!" she accused, though she didn't seem upset.

"Oh, I didn't?" Ben asked with a grin on his face. He swung a leg over the bike, sitting down on the front seat. "Are you going to come or not?"

Adrienne took the back seat. "I didn't know the palace had a tandem bike," she remarked, looking at the flower basket in front of the handles. "Do you go on bike rides often?"

"Um, actually, not really," Ben admitted sheepishly. "I'm not a very athletic person. My parents used to ride this bike a lot, though."

They started pedalling around the palace grounds, and Ben quickly realised that their coordination was extremely off. He started pedalling faster in order to be at the same pace as Adrienne, and their bike sped up. "Hey, we're doing pretty-"

He swerved around the sudden bend in the path and very nearly crashed into a tree, turning away at the last second. Letting out a loud sigh of relief, he reminded himself to practice the date activity beforehand in future dates.

"You shouldn't have said that!" Adrienne shouted, trying hard to contain her laughter. Ben had recovered and they were still riding the bike down the thankfully straighter path.

While nothing bad was happening, Ben decided to take the opportunity to start a conversation. "So what about you?"

"What about me?" Adrienne asked. He sneaked a glance over his shoulder to see her looking around the palace grounds before quickly diverting his attention back to the road in front of him.

"Are you an athletic person?" he asked, earning himself an eyeroll.

"I'm a model," she scoffed. "We don't just magically have looks, you know. I train for hours every single day."

"Really?" This was news to him. He'd always assumed that people were just naturally thin and gorgeous. He guessed that for all their wealth and fame, models still had a hard life.

"Really."

"You know, I guess being a model and a royal are kind of similar," Ben commented, turning his head to the side in an attempt to look at her. Seeing her confused expression, he added hastily, "I mean, it seems like a life of riches and fame and success. It also seems really easy. All models do is walk up and down a runway, and all royals do is sit there and boss around a country. But there's tons of hard work behind the scenes that goes into the career, and by no means is it easy."

Adrienne nodded thoughtfully. "I guess when you put it that way, they do have their similarities." Her mood shifted and she gave him a cheeky smile. "Are you saying I'd be a good princess?"

"Maybe," Ben said mysteriously, turning around slightly on the seat so that he could face her. "Do you think you'd be a good princess?"

Adrienne giggled. "Seeing as you asked me, this doesn't count as boasting, but I'd make an awesome princess." Then her eyes widened. "Turn around!"

"Wh-"

"TURN AROUND!"

Ben spun around at the last second and slammed down on the brakes, hearing Adrienne do the same. The tandem skidded forward for a few more feet and came to a stop, the front wheel only an inch away from the palace wall.

"That's why you don't turn around while riding a bike, idiot," Adrienne told him, crossing her arms and attempting to appear angry, though Ben didn't miss her small smile. "I think we're pretty much done here."

They both climbed off the bike and moved it back to where it had been standing before. Ben realised just how quickly they had been paddling, and he could feel the pain in his legs. "I hope that worked up an appetite," he muttered after a glance at his watch. "It's lunch in an hour."

"I'm a model, remember?" Adrienne reminded him teasingly. "Dieting and exercising is sort of my thing."

That comment made Ben wonder just how hard life as a model was, if she was forced to eat certain foods and work out all her life. He was impressed with how happy and confident Adrienne seemed even if her life seemed tough. Though their conversation had been short, he was easily attracted to her. He was glad to see that she ate a large plate of food during lunch, then scolded himself for overreacting and caring too much.

Ben had originally planned to go roller-skating with Elodie during the afternoon, but when he was about to leave his room he realised that his legs were still extremely sore. He quickly decided to switch his date with Elodie for another date he had planned for the next day, a group date with a small amount of girls. He sent the invitations out quickly and went to the karaoke room. It had been installed when Tori was ten. His little sister had been certain singing was her calling, and while he'd hated the times he and Marinette were forced to accompany her, he was grateful for the room now.

The first girl to arrive was Lilianne, dressed in a casual white dress with floral designs. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw Ben, and she sat down on the couch. He'd invited her because he wanted to get to know who she was other than that-girl-he-vomited-in-front-of. She'd also ranked quite high in the public poll, so it was an even better reason to spend time with her. "Your Highness," she said, dipping her head politely.

"Call me Ben," he insisted, wondering how many times he had said that phrase. He seriously had to make some public announcement soon commanding them to call him by his nickname.

"Who else is coming?" Lilianne asked curiously. However, her question was quickly answered by the door opening.

Eliza and Arylih walked in, both looking very different. Eliza was wearing a black dress with a crossed neckline while Arylih sported a vibrant red off-the-shoulder dress with flowy sleeves. A second later, Sydney caught up to them, dressed in a blush pink halter dress.

"Thanks for coming!" Ben said happily. Arylih and Sydney sat down on the sofa next to Lilianne, but Ben gestured for Eliza to share the beanbag with him. It could easily fit both of them, and he wanted her to feel comfortable. He'd invited Arylih and Sydney because he had seen them together at the dinner party, and he hoped that Eliza would finally be able to relax and have some fun. No matter what people said, the girls' happiness mattered to him.

He switched on the screen and took the microphones out of a cardboard box, wondering how long it had been since he'd had a karaoke night with his family. He gave each girl a microphone and held his own, pressing a few buttons on the remote.

"Any song choices?" he asked the girls. All of them shook their heads except Sydney, who looked excited.

"Lush Life!" she exclaimed, and all the girls nodded their agreement.

Ben had never heard the song in his life, but he vaguely recalled Tori mentioning it somewhere. He found it in the list of song choices, curious to see how good at singing the girls were. He had originally wanted to invite some real musicians, such as Selina and Amethyst, but he didn't want to give multiple dates to girls when there were still others. He had almost invited Fleur but remembered at the last second that he'd promised her a date with just the two of them.

Arylih got into the song immediately, singing the first verse with passion. While her voice wasn't the most angelic, her enthusiasm was adorable, and Ben loved how happy she seemed.

Lilianne and Sydney joined in, and he nudged Eliza, who had stayed quiet. "You wanna try singing?" he asked, hoping she would say yes. To his great delight, she nodded.

"Yeah, I'mma dance my heart out till the dawn, but I won't be done when morning comes!" she sang, her volume surprising Ben. She was an extremely loud singer, which he definitely had not expected from her profession as a librarian.

"Doing it all night, all summer!" the girls all chorused together. "Gonna spend it like no other!" They turned to Ben expectantly, and he blushed.

"I don't know this song!" he said quickly.

"Then change it to one you do know!" Sydney suggested, not seeming the least bit annoyed that she wouldn't be able to finish Lush Life. Ben sighed, but grudgingly scrolled through the song list until he finally found one he knew and liked.

"Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep…"

Much to his embarrassment, Eliza and Lilianne immediately burst into laughter, while Sydney giggled. "Hey!" he protested, offended. "I'm not that bad at singing!"

"He's better than I am," Arylih said seriously, although he could tell she was hiding her chuckles.

Lilianne started singing the next line, and one by one the other girls joined in. Having no choice, Ben sighed and started singing too, glad the girls weren't laughing this time.

He was completely out of breath by the time the song was finished, but he was extremely proud of himself for handling an entire song. Arylih demanded the right to choose the next one, and quickly they were listening to New Obsession.

"I'm dead set on you!" Eliza sang gleefully, her loud voice once again startling Ben.

The girls chose song after song until Ben was almost starting to get bored. He was having fun, sure, but he didn't know all the songs well enough to sing along. Eliza noticed this and handed the remote to him, and he gave her a grateful smile in return.

His eyes settled on one song that he knew from one of Tori's favorite old movies, Aladdin. Before any of the girls could object, he turned to Eliza.

"Want to sing this with me?" he asked. Barely even hesitating, she grinned and grabbed her microphone.

"I can show you the world," Ben began, feeling somewhat awkward. He was sure he sounded like a dying duck. "Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me, princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"

"Yesterday," Arylih muttered under her breath, causing him to laugh.

"I can open your eyes," he continued, gradually starting to relax, "take you wonder by wonder. Over, sideways, straight-under on a magic carpet ride…"

"A whole new world!" Eliza sang confidently, putting all her effort into the song. "A new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no, or where to go, or say we're only dreaming."

He realised that he'd gotten the line distribution wrong between the roles and he should've sung that line, but he didn't really care and joined in for the next verse.

"A whole new world… A dazzling place I never knew! But now from way up here, it's crystal clear…"

Eliza trailed off, and he looked around the room, locking eyes with all the girls. Lilianne's blue ones, Arylih's forest green ones and Sydney's bright green ones. He realised that the song somewhat reminded him of the Selection. It was a whole new world for him, but now that he was in it, he knew he had girls by his side to help him through it.

How would he be able to choose the One? They were all so precious to him already, even the ones who he knew didn't have their hearts in the Selection, and he would never to be able to bear saying goodbye to twenty-nine of them. He knew it was inevitable, but he often wondered how someone like him had been so lucky to find so many sweet and caring girls.

Some of them had given up almost everything to enter the Selection, and those who hadn't were putting all their effort into it. He vowed to make the Selection a good experience for everyone.

"Now I'm in a whole new world… With you."

* * *

Hey guys!

There's a new poll on my profile, where you can choose five girls you want to see a date with in Week 2! Because I made it earlier today and I'm too lazy to go edit it, it still contains all the girls from this chapter, so sorry about that.

How did you guys like the group date for this chapter? I thought that it would be nice to get to know more girls at a time, but still not all thirty of them.

Most of the songs from the karaoke are songs that exist in real life, obviously, so I'm not taking credit for them. I'm just too lazy to think up more fake songs and bands, so just pretend that they're brand new pop songs in Illea. Speaking of songs, check out the playlist for this story on my profile to see what I listen to when writing this story! :)

Expect more of these smaller group dates coming soon, because I have tons of ideas! Until next time!

~Rysa


	15. Challenge

Ben hated being woken up. Even if it was to the tune of his favorite song, he despised it when his sleep ended in any way other than natural.

As he picked up the telephone, he practically spat into the other end, "Who is it?"

"Ben!" a voice squealed, in a heavy French accent.

He didn't know whether to be happy or frustrated. "Chantal, you just woke me up."

He could practically imagine the youngest French princess's cheeky smile. "Oh, I did? My most sincere apologies, oh greatest crown prince of Illea."

"What do you want?" he demanded. Chantal was one of his favorite foreign royals, but nobody got away with waking him up. Sleep was a precious thing.

"What is with the attitude?" He could practically _hear_ the pout in her voice. "I was just going to alert you of some really excellent news."

"Which is?" he asked impatiently, though he couldn't help feeling a bit excited.

"I am coming to Illea this weekend!"

Ben very nearly dropped his telephone. "No way!" His voice completely betrayed his excitement, but he didn't care. There was no need to be hostile when he was about to see Chantal in a few days. "Just you?"

"Apolline is coming as well," she added quickly, laughing as Ben swore. "Oh, come now! My sister is not entirely _mauvais_."

Apolline was the second oldest French princess and she was only a year older than Ben and Marinette. They'd had some complications in the past, so his feelings for her weren't exactly pleasant. He could only imagine what it would be like with her around and all the embarrassing stories the French sisters would tell the girls. Marinette was enough already; according to Leia, his twin sister had shown all the girls his baby photos while he was in the karaoke room.

He suddenly had a stroke of genius as he remembered that some of the Selected were particularly interested in the art of pranking. He'd have to talk to Arylih and Sydney sometime.

"If you say so," he muttered, not entirely agreeing with her. "What day are you arriving?"

" _Vendredi_!" Chantal chirruped, causing him to roll his eyes at her enthusiasm. "I simply cannot wait to meet all your girlfriends. How is it going so far?"

Ben sighed loudly. He'd always wanted someone to talk to about the Selection, but not a seventeen-year-old romantic. "It's good. I went on a ton of dates last week. I'm trying small group dates this week, so I can meet them all faster."

"Smart," she remarked. "How many of them have you kissed?"

Nearly dropping the telephone, Ben flushed in embarrassment and was glad that Chantal couldn't see him. "I… I haven't…"

"Typical Ben," she said, clearly amused. "So have you found the One yet?"

Returning to his senses, he scowled. "Of course not! It's been one week, Chantal. I haven't even gone on dates with half of them yet! How am I supposed to find my true love?"

"But you are supposed to know who it is once you lock eyes with her!" she declared dramatically. "Have you not read any romance novels lately?" She sighed, clearly disappointed at the small amount of gossip she'd received. "I shall simply have to see the current situation for myself and find out who will be the best match for you."

"Don't interfere with my love life," Ben warned. As much as he appreciated Chantal's company, this was the one time in his life where he got to make his own decisions.

"We shall see," Chantal simply responded, her voice irritatingly cheerful. "Tell me about these girlfriends of yours!"

Ben blushed. "Well, uh, I eliminated five on the first day…"

"Understandable," Chantal commented. "Do continue."

"I went on a bike ride yesterday and then had a karaoke night." He casually refrained from mentioning how he had nearly died several times during the bike ride.

"Who is your favorite?" Chantal demanded immediately.

Knowing there was no way he was going to get out of this question, Ben mentally went over the list of girls in his head. "Well, there's this girl called Amethyst. And-"

"AMETHYST DAWNS?" Chantal screeched, and he held the telephone away from his ear. "FROM DUSK TO DAWN? _J'adore_ their music!"

"Let me finish," Ben snapped. "And there's this model, she's called Adrienne. She's the bike ride one. She-"

"You PLAYER!" she accused loudly, before lowering her voice to a more manageable volume. "Is she pretty?"

Ben suppressed a grin. The Selection forced him to have thirty-five girlfriends. It was hardly fair of Chantal to call him a player. "You'll have to see. But there's also Ira. She's really patient and fun. And Luna, who I haven't had a date with yet but she's really kind and sweet. Eliza seemed sort of nervous at first, but I've gotten her to warm up. Miriam was my first date, and she's a fast runner but she doesn't seem very social with the other girls. Viera is Russian, and she's really witty. Selina-"

"I GET IT," Chantal interrupted rudely. "I hear you have two French girls?"

"One is French, the other is half French and a quarter New Asian," he corrected, smiling. "I think you would get along with the French one. Try to talk to the other girls though, if you really are going to help me scout out my future wife."

"Got it," she said, with an unusual seriousness to her tone that made Ben feel uneasy. Was Chantal actually going to snoop around for him? "I must go now, dearest Ben! I simply cannot wait until I arrive in Illea! _Au revoir_!"

The telephone started beeping, the sound which signalled the end of a call, before Ben had even opened his mouth. Shaking his head to himself, he placed the telephone back in its rightful position and made his way to his closet, trying to decide what to wear for his date.

After ten minutes of trying on his clothes and a quick bowl of cereal in his room, he knocked on the door. It had taken him a while to decide who he wanted to go roller skating with. He'd figured asking a dancer like Viera or a figure skater like Ira would've been better given the activity, but he had gone on dates with both of those girls already and didn't want to be unfair to the rest. Less than a second later, the door swung open and Elodie stepped out. Because he had told her to dress for athletic activity, she was wearing a purple tank top and floral shorts.

"You look nice," he said.

She grinned. "You don't look so bad yourself." While they were standing face to face with no other distractions, Ben suddenly noticed that he was almost a whole foot taller than her. Were all of the girls in the Selection so short? "So what's this athletic activity you were talking about?"

"You'll see," was all Ben said, causing her to frown. However, her impatient expression quickly morphed into one of excitement and surprise once they arrived at the running track, where two pairs of roller skates were sitting. "We're going to roller skate?"

"Do you like roller skating?" he asked her curiously. He'd never actually gone roller skating before, so he was hoping she wouldn't outshine him.

"Never done it!" she admitted, not the slightest bit deterred.

He breathed out in relief. "That makes two of us. I suppose we should call some guards over to make sure we don't fall on our butts."

He hadn't meant the comment seriously, but once he'd put on his skates and risen to his feet he was starting to think it was a good idea. He could barely stand up straight and had to lean forward awkwardly to keep his balance. Elodie was also struggling but managed a few steps before skidding to a stop.

"This is harder than I thought!" he grumbled, mostly to himself.

Next to him, Elodie was still taking tentative steps. "It's fun!" she protested. "Challenges are always ni-"

She was cut off in mid-sentence as she suddenly lost her balance. Her feet slid out from beneath her and she landed squarely on her but, letting out a shocked little shout.

Immediately, two guards dashed over to Elodie. "Are you hurt, Lady Elodie?" one asked anxiously, while the other helped her to her feet.

Elodie shook her head quickly, unfazed by the attention. "No, no! It's fine!" She stood up, holding out her arms as if to prove she could stay standing. "That was fun!" She let out a small laugh. "How can you improve if you don't learn from your mistakes?" she asked, her rhetorical question directed at Ben.

He shrugged in response before trying again to roller skate, this time finding that he wasn't entirely bad as long as he didn't lean too far back. After a few more minutes and one more fall on Elodie's end, they were both skating around the track at a pace that could only be described as fast walking.

"This actually isn't too bad," Ben admitted, breaking into a smile.

Elodie nodded her agreement before suddenly skating faster. "Catch me if you can!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Not fair!" he protested. He started moving the slightest bit faster, still trying to maintain his balance. He chased after her for a full lap of the track without any success, but suddenly Elodie stumbled and crashed into the floor.

Seizing his opportunity, he skated right past her and crossed the point where they'd started. "I win!" he announced gleefully, turning back to look at Elodie.

The brunette girl picked herself up, frowning at Ben. "Hey, I totally deserved to win that!" she joked.

He was about to make a retort when a sudden flash of light distracted him. Spinning around, he found himself looking straight at one of the Selected girls standing by the palace entrance, holding a camera.

Elodie noticed her at the same time, and her expression brightened. "Hey, Vivian!" she called loudly, causing the girl's eyes to widen behind a pair of thick black glasses. She clearly hadn't expected to be found.

Vivian made her way over to them slowly, looking nervous. "Sorry!" she apologised as soon as she was next to Ben. "I really wasn't spying, I pro-"

"It's fine," Ben assured her. While he was a little peeved that their privacy had been disturbed, he supposed Vivian hadn't actually done anything wrong. "Can I see the pictures?"

She was beaming as she handed over the camera, which made him remember that she was a photographer. As he looked through the pictures on her camera, he noted that she was also good at it. There were several good shots of Elodie stumbling around, but his favorite picture was of himself crossing the starting point with a triumphant smile on his face. It made him look less horrible than he felt.

There were also photos of other events, and he saw several of the People Chess activity, which made him wonder how she'd taken pictures without him noticing. There were several shots of the palace's different rooms, and they were all taken from the best angles to make everything even more glamorous. However, his favorite pictures were of the girls: Leia and Luna feeding Ben Junior, Viera teaching Andromeda how to waltz, Amethyst with a humongous piece of cake on her plate, Fleur chasing after Irene in the forest. However, he noticed that Vivian wasn't in any of these photos, and it made him sad.

"Can I take a few photos of you?" he offered. "I'm pretty sure we have another pair of roller skates somewhere here."

Vivian shook her head quickly. "It's fine," she insisted. "I… Prefer to stay out of the spotlight. The photos I take make me happy. I don't need to be in them myself."

Slightly disappointed, Ben handed back the camera. "I see. Are you making a photo album?"

"I want to," Vivian admitted. "But I don't know where to print these pictures out."

"I'll show you where they are sometime. Of course, as long as you give me a copy of all the photos," he added jokingly.

"Will do, Your Highness," Vivian responded seriously.

Ben very nearly slammed his head into the palace wall. "Call me Ben."

"Ben," she corrected herself, smiling.

After talking with Elodie and Vivian for a little longer, as well as having another race with Elodie (he won again), he started making his way back to his room. He noticed that the door to a room was ajar and peered in, not expecting to find five girls crouched on the floor solving a puzzle.

He was about to slip away unnoticed when Nora looked up and called to him. "Ben!" All the heads turned in his direction, and he let out a small sigh before joining them on the floor.

"Hey," he greeted lamely, tucking his legs underneath him and looking at their puzzle. The image on the puzzle's box portrayed a colorful map of Illea, but so far the girls only had Whites, the ocean around Dominica and the coast of Sonage pieced together. "Need some help?"

Olivia nodded, brushing her blonde side braid back. She seemed to be taking the puzzle the most seriously, and was flicking through all five hundred pieces in an attempt to find the other half of Panama. "This is a lot harder than it looked." Next to her, Nora's brown eyes lit up as she pieced together Yukon and added it to Whites.

Ben rolled his eyes. "I don't know why my Aunt Clarissa thought it would be a good idea to give Marinette this. It took my entire family about four days."

Blair's jaw dropped. "We're not going to take four days to complete this, are we?"

He shook his head, grinning. "Today's your lucky day. I'm really familiar with this puzzle, so it shouldn't take us more than an hour." He pointed to a puzzle piece that Claire had been studying carefully. "That's on the bottom of Hudson. Used to stump me every time."

True to his word, fifty minutes later they had completed the entire puzzle. All the girls looked exhausted but proud, which was exactly how he felt, so when he suggested they get some lunch in the kitchens as a reward they were all pleased. Brock gave them two large pepperoni pizzas and they all huddled around one of the kitchen counters, eating with gusto.

"What do you all do back home?" he asked the girls curiously after he'd finished a slice.

Olivia answered immediately. "I'm an etiquette instructor, here in Angeles," she explained, carefully biting into the pizza. That made sense to Ben, with how she acted.

"I'm a housekeeper," Irene replied, frowning to indicate that she wasn't pleased with her job. She was the polar opposite of Olivia, leaving her half-chewed crusts on the plate and wiping her mouth with her hand.

Blair hesitated for a moment. "I'm a real estate agent for my father's agency." She didn't look any happier than Irene, so Ben risked asking a question.

"But you don't like your job, do you?"

She shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed. "My father and I, we don't exactly see eye to eye. I'd much rather be a swimmer, like my friend Kaden, but… I'm a Four."

Ben wasn't sure how to reply so he turned to Claire and Nora expectantly.

"My father is the head of the Illean National Bank," Claire supplied smoothly.

Nora's reply was much simpler. "Farmer," she stated.

Ben was impressed at how they all got along even if they were very different. It made him wonder, not for the first time, how he would ever choose the One out of so many unique girls. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, but in the end, only one of them would become queen.

His thoughts wandered to the elimination he was planning to conduct at the end of Chantal and Apolline's visit. He only had a few faint ideas of who to send home, but he knew he had to pick up the date pace in order to truly interact with every girl.

He was not going to have much rest anytime soon.

* * *

Hey guys!

Oh my god, this is already the fifteenth chapter! I can't believe we're already this far into the story. I'm really proud of the way it's turning out so far, and I hope you all are happy with it :)

This chapter isn't my best work, but it's all I've got for now :/

The group date didn't give a lot of dialogue opportunities for the girls, so I hope you don't mind that too much.

I start school in a week, so updates will be slow (this update streak is definitely a rare thing), but I'll definitely be writing every morning and afternoon on the schoolbus!

Sorry if the few French words/phrases in the beginning were incorrect. I took French classes for about three years, but it's been a while so I can't remember too much.

Until next time!

~Rysa


	16. Sweeter than Ice Cream

Ben hadn't known what to expect when his father had called him to the palace entrance, but he knew it hadn't been a brown-haired boy on his knees in front of the king.

"What's going on?" he asked his father suspiciously. He didn't recognise the boy and had no clue why he was there.

"Please," the boy begged, "give me back my fiancee!"

The king and Ben exchanged glances, the king shrugging. Clearly he was just as confused as Ben was.

Then his mind registered the word 'fiancee', and he had a slight clue what the boy was talking about.

"Wait here," he told his father before turning on his heel and sprinting up the stairs towards the second floor. He found the room he was looking for and knocked twice. The door immediately opened, and Elliana let him inside.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly as she saw his urgent expression. She had clearly not been expecting visitors from the state of her messy blonde bun, and she was dressed in a simple tank and pineapple shorts.

"We have an, um, visitor," he explained, and for a split second Elliana looked hopeful. "We don't know he is, but… He asked us to give him back his fiancee."

Elliana's eyes widened. "Adam…?" she asked breathlessly. She was immediately out the door, Ben right on her heel as they ran towards the palace entrance.

The boy had tears staining his cheeks, but as soon as Elliana ran in he immediately looked up. "Elli!" he gasped, standing up and sprinting over to the blonde.

"Adam!" Elliana's eyes were misty and she enveloped her fiance in a hug. Watching from the side, Ben felt somewhat jealous. He'd known Elliana's heart was already taken, but it still hurt to see someone supposed to be fighting for him be so affectionate with someone else.

"Elli, please," Adam sobbed. "I'm so sorry for what I said to you. Please come back to me. I love you!"

Elliana looked over to Ben and for a split second he actually thought she was going to refuse, before scolding himself for being selfish. "Can I?" she begged.

How could he possibly refuse? "Of course," he said, though inside he felt a bit unsettled. Elliana was a wonderful girl, and while she told him from the start that she wasn't interested in him, her goodbye still stung. He'd had the faintest hope that she might actually fall for him, and while he knew he had twenty-nine other girls at the palace, he would miss Elliana.

As if reading his mind, Elliana took his hand. "Thank you," she said, looking truly happy for the first time. "You're a great person, Ben. You'll make an amazing king. I hope the rest of the Selection goes well for you."

Ben swallowed hard, feeling ungrateful. Here he was, being unhappy about Elliana's departure when she was wishing him luck for the rest of the Selection. "It was nice to know you, Elliana Wellington."

"I'll never forget this experience." Then, much to his surprise, she hugged him. He stood shocked until Elliana let go of him and returned to Adam's side.

"You're more than welcome at our wedding next month, Your Highness," Adam told him politely, his brown eyes shining. "Thank you so much for taking care of my girl."

The king called for a limousine to escort them to the Angeles airport, where they would take the next plane back to Whites. As he waved to them, his worries grew. Would any of the other girls leave him willingly? He hoped it would be easier once he reached a smaller pool of girls. His only reassurance was that there were so many wonderful girls left in the competition who he knew he would be happy with.

 _Is it always going to hurt this much?_

The limousine's outline faded away into the Angeles streets, and there were now twenty-nine girls left.

From then on, the rest of Ben's day went downhill as the queen gave him several reports of unrest in the North. He barely had time to eat his lunch before he was called into a meeting with his father's council.

"We really need to publicise more of the dates," one of his father's head advisors, Sir Pimentel was saying. "There's barely been any photographers since the Sumner girl and the dinner party."

Taking that as an insult, Ben bristled. "I don't want to broadcast my relationships."

Shooting him a glare, Sir Pimentel continued. "This whole Selection is a publicity stunt, after all. I don't see why it matters-"

"This is my life you're playing with," Ben snapped, standing up. "Am I not allowed to choose who I want to marry? Can't I at least love people without worrying about public impressions?"

"Ben," his father said warningly. He slumped back into his seat grudgingly, still furious at the advisor.

"You're also going to have to conduct some more eliminations," Sir Pimentel said smugly. "We think the best way is to have competitions where the losers are then-"

"I'm planning on eliminating a few after Chantal and Apolline's visit," Ben interrupted. God, he hated his father's advisors, but Sir Pimentel was the worst. They all thought of him as an irresponsible child who didn't know what was best for the country.

King Julien turned to him, surprised. "Which ones?"

He blushed. "Um… I haven't really thought about it yet."

"Your Highness, you have to take the Selection seriously," Sir Evans spoke up, which Ben found ironic considering Sir Pimentel had just told him it was all a game.

"I am!" Ben said, scowling. "All the girls are amazing, I don't know who to eliminate!"

His father sighed frustratedly. "This meeting is going nowhere. You are all dismissed." As the advisors left, with several of them shooting the prince deadly looks, the king turned to him. "Ask Marinette to help you sort through the files. Chantal too, when she arrives."

"I don't need their help," Ben insisted childishly, regretting it as his father turned to him sternly.

"Benvolio," he reprimanded. "A good king never accomplishes anything by himself. He finds good, trustworthy people to help him."

"Fine," Ben muttered, turning around and stalking out of the council room. Deciding to clear his mind after the stressful meeting, he headed down to the kitchen to see if Brock had any ice cream.

Much to his surprise, someone else was already there. As the girl turned around after hearing his footsteps, he noticed it was Luna, who he hadn't talked to since their first conversation.

"Ben!" she said, sitting up straighter on the kitchen stool. She pulled out the one next to her, gesturing for him to sit down. "What brings you down here?"

Ben was immensely relieved that she'd called him by his first name. "Just had a meeting with the king's council," he explained as he slid onto the stool. "I wanted a break."

"Was it bad?" Luna asked, her voice filled with sympathy. "I can't imagine how hard it must be to run a country."

"You have no idea," Ben agreed. Seeing Brock entered the room, he waved to him. "Brock! Do you have any ice cream?"

"I was just finding some for Lady Luna," he explained, and only then did Ben notice several cartons in his hands. He placed them on the counter before fetching two porcelain bowls. "What flavor?"

Ben studied the cartons, surprised at the variety. The last time he had come down to the kitchens for ice cream, he was sure there had been less flavors. "What do you want, Luna?"

Luna took a moment to think. "Could I get a little bit of raspberry, cake batter and coffee?"

As Brock placed the ice cream in one of the bowls, Ben finally figured out which flavors he wanted. "Pistachio, cinnamon and butter pecan," he decided, and Brock served him his own bowl.

"I've never had ice cream before," Luna said, causing Ben to nearly drop his spoon and stare at her.

He quickly recovered, remembering she was a Six. "Oh," was all he managed to say. He wondered if the other Sixes in the Selection had also never had ice cream. Pushing her bowl closer to her, he gave her an encouraging smile. "It's like a creation from heaven. You'll love it."

Luna cautiously placed a spoonful of the cake batter ice cream in her mouth, and her brown eyes lit up. "This is delicious!"

"Told you so," he said smugly, though he was pleased that she liked it. Then again, who didn't like ice cream? He felt a pang of sympathy for the few people in the country who had never tried it and vowed to do something about it soon. Maybe it would actually help the lower castes accept him as their crown prince. Digging into his own ice cream, all his worries from the council meeting faded away.

"What's your life like back home?" he asked through a mouthful of butter pecan.

Luna paused. "Well, I'm a housekeeper," she began, seeming embarrassed. "For a Six, it's one of the best-paying jobs I can get. Both my parents work really hard, but we still struggle sometimes."

As someone who had never had money problems in his life, Ben couldn't relate, but it didn't stop him from pitying her family. Even though he was at the top of the caste system, he knew it wasn't fair, and that Luna deserved the same opportunities and living conditions as any Two or Three.

"I hope the Selection money is helping," he said lamely, then immediately felt bad. He was practically flaunting in her face that he had enough money to throw around carelessly.

Luckily, Luna didn't seem to think about the other side of his words. "It is," she confirmed. They sat in silence for a few moments, both eating ice cream and lost in their own thoughts.

Ben finally dared to ask the question which had been plaguing his thoughts. "Is that why you signed up?" he blurted out. "For the money?" He had known that it was a possibility for the lower castes, to come to the castle just for the pay check and caste raise, but he wasn't sure if Luna was one of them.

Luna looked down at her bowl, and he waited for the admission that she didn't have any feelings for him, or that she cared about her family more than anything, or that she never wanted to be a part of the Selection in the first place. He was about ready to leave the room, certain he had no place in her heart, when her steady voice surprised him.

"No."

He blinked twice, wondering if he had misheard her.

Luna turned her gaze on him, and he was temporarily stunned by the intensity in her eyes. "Sure, the extra money doesn't hurt, and I can provide for my family this way. But…"

She wavered, before continuing with a little less confidence than before.

"The real reason I signed up for the Selection was you, Ben. I've been watching Reports for my entire life, and you're not perfect. Not even close. But all your mistakes make you human. You're a person just like the rest of us and your job as crown prince forces you to work so hard, but you still put all your effort into it and you're doing the best you can."

It was exactly what he needs to hear after Elliana's departure, the affirmation that someone in the group of girls actually cared about him. Luna's words warmed his heart and dispelled his worries.

Only just realising how close together they were, Ben took a quick glance around the room. Brock had left long ago and taken the ice cream cartons with him. They were completely alone in the cluttered, messy kitchen, and while it was not the most romantic setting, he didn't stop himself when he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

He could feel her flinching in surprise, but she responded immediately afterwards, kissing him back. He didn't care that it was only the second week of the Selection; something about Luna drew him in, and while he wasn't sure if he was in love he definitely felt strongly for her.

It seemed all too soon when he pulled back reluctantly, but he kept his arms around her, his content reflected in Luna's face. They didn't speak, but he was fine with that. He didn't care that he had twenty-eight other girls in the palace, or piles of paperwork he had to finish. He had Luna in his embrace, and for the moment, he was not letting go.

* * *

Hey guys!

This will probably be one of the last chapters I get out for a while due to school starting and stuff, but I just want to say that all of your reviews really make me happy and I'm really thankful for all of them :)

Holy shit this chapter was so difficult to write, you have no idea, and sorry for it not being the best. I don't have a lot of experience with ahem romantic stuff because I'm a loner for life, but I hope you guys find this somewhat acceptable. I actually had to ask my friend L.C. Carraway for help, who by the way is a total writing god and the next J.K. Rowling. Go read her story Holding Our Own In a Great Big Storm, you'll see what I mean.

But literally romance and fluff is not my strong suit I should stick to Harry Potter and Hunger Games fanfictions guys I had to download like 50 songs to help me through this (ps I added a heck ton of songs to my playlist check 'em out)

I'll try to keep puking out updates for you guys, but they may start to come a whole lot slower because I start school next Monday and there's a whole lot of stuff I need to prepare for

Until next time!

~Rysa


	17. On The Way

I have an important announcement! I'm going to be adding POVs for some of the Selected! I swear I was originally going to write this story in Ben's POV only and didn't change my mind until, like, last night, but one of the things I love about the Selection is all the stuff that goes on with the girls in the background. Therefore, I will start trickling in girl POVs here and there! I know this is unprofessional to just change it in the middle of the story and I'm really sorry, but I really wanted to introduce some of the behind-the-scenes stuff.

Anyways, there's a poll on my profile about who's POV you want to see sometime, but these first two are probably unexpected! I had a lot of fun writing these and I hope you find them interesting to read even if they're super short.

PS. School has started, so updates will be a lot slower! Like always, I'm really sorry!

* * *

Klara had had enough.

No matter what, it seemed that Illea's stupid crown prince just wouldn't notice her. She had tried everything in her power, but even the most revealing of necklines and shortest of skirts didn't seem to catch his attention.

When she'd heard about the French princesses' visit, she had been excited. It was finally her chance to make a good impression, and maybe the foreign royals would pass on a good word about her. She'd heard they were staying for a week, so it meant that they would still be here for her birthday.

But no, the younger princess — what was her name again? — chattered like a thirteen-year-old all through breakfast to Marinette, who was looking just as frustrated as Klara. And the older princess hadn't even shown up! Klara was a Three, but even she seemed to know more about etiquette than Apolline Dubois. They were guests at the palace; they could've at least bothered to attend breakfast!

Apolline wasn't the only royal clearly lacking in knowledge. Ben's seat at the head of the table was empty, which Klara suspected contributed to Marinette's sour face. He was going to be the king of Illea one day, yet he still slept in! He really had to pick himself up, otherwise the country Klara had called home for nineteen years would be ruined. He had to find a wife who would be able to rule a country.

 _Someone like me._

Klara wasn't a boastful person. She didn't brag about how good she was. She simply stated the fact that she would be a much better ruler than most of these girls. What did a housekeeper know about etiquette? Had a cellist ever touched an important document? As a lawyer, Klara had been brought up with an imaginary crown on her head, and woe betide her if she ever let it fall.

Her grip tightened around the handle of the coffee mug she was holding, until she felt the porcelain might shatter just by the amount of pressure she was putting on it. Next to her, Hadley's inched subtly to the other side as her eyes widened.

Intimidation seemed to be the only way she got anything done, but there was no use scaring the future king to pick her. He'd be one of those daft idiots who followed his heart and chose a Six or some useless girl. It had happened millions of times in previous Selections, and Klara knew she didn't have the biggest chance.

If anything, Klara was not losing to Lauren. Any other higher-caste girl would be fine, but not the New Asian ambassador. While they were somewhat friendly in front of others, she knew Lauren was the real competition. Lauren was beautiful, she had to admit. Her New Asian connections certainly helped. Klara's mother was Japanese, but her family had no ties to politics whatsoever. Lauren did.

Connections were everything in the Selection, and Klara knew that Lauren had a far better chance than she did. But who had been ranked third-prettiest girl in the entire Selection? Klara. Who had gotten fifth place when the other had only placed ninth, lower than a Six? Klara. In the eyes of the public, she was as golden as her long, gorgeous hair.

In the end, all it mattered was the prince. But Klara would be damned if she let a stupid boy get in the way of her and the throne.

Klara would win. There was no question. It was as simple as that.

By the end of the Selection, she would have a real crown on her head.

* * *

The atmosphere at breakfast was not pleasant.

It had gotten to a point in the Selection where everyone was seriously starting to contemplate how far they would make it in the competition. Tensions were high, and everyone looked as if they were planning their next moves.

Everyone except Irene.

The former housekeeper brushed a strand of her auburn hair out of her face irritatedly. She hadn't even wanted to enter the Selection! Why had Elliot forced her to sign up? When she returned to Carolina, which she hoped would be soon, she would shred her older brother to pieces.

 _You need to change your attitude, he'd said. You'll be a different person, he'd said._

Even with the amount of dresses and makeup being piled on her every day, Irene was still very much herself. She stuck to the simplest, least girly garments and only allowed her maids to use eyeliner and mascara. As for her attitude, that was even more laughable. She'd chosen to stay in her room for practically the entire week, avoiding conversations if she was in the Women's Room. Couldn't the other girls just realise that she was not one for socializing?

But there was absolutely no way she would ask to leave. Irene would never admit defeat in a competition like this, even if she was terribly homesick and wanted to be gone within the hour. She would never let the royals have the satisfaction of knowing that they had gotten to her.

Another reason was the chocolate croissant she held in her hand. The food was much better than what she ate back home — if there was any food at all — and she had fallen in love with the different dishes. The variety was endless, and the decadent parmesan risotto which was available every other day was possibly the one thing Irene would stay in the palace until the end for.

However, in the end, how long would she be able to enjoy the benefits of the Selection? How would she feel if she was sent home? Irene paused mid-bite, contemplating this. Would she be glad that she could leave this silly competition? Would she miss the luxuries of the palace?

She would be a Three when it was all over, but she wasn't sure how she would handle that. She didn't have the brains to become a doctor or scientist, but she also didn't have the patience for teaching.

Briefly, the fantasy of writing her own biography floated in her mind, but she brushed it away almost just as quickly. She'd dropped out of school a long time ago to help her brother; there was no way she could possibly write anything.

So no, leaving was not exactly an option for her.

With a jolt that sent a little bit of orange juice sloshing out of her glass, Irene realised that she did need to stay. Despite having only been at the palace for a week, she had become accustomed to the Selection, and could hardly picture it ending anytime soon.

Irene had lots of fire in her. Too much, as her brother would say. And she would be using that fire to fight with all her might.

She wasn't letting the others defeat her just yet.

* * *

For the second time that week, Ben was once again woken up by Chantal.

"BEN!" the youngest French princess shrieked. "GET UP, YOU LAZY ARSE!"

He was so startled by her volume that he rolled onto the floor, dragging his blankets with him. "Seriously?" he snapped. "Did you have to…"

The realisation kicked in, and he sprung to his feet. "Chantal!" he screamed as he hugged her, not caring that he was still wearing his pyjamas. Bright blue cartoon shirts were nothing when he was seeing his friend for the first time in forever. "I didn't know you would be here so early!"

"Well, I am here now, no?" she asked cheekily, hugging him back. "Besides, how can you call this time early?"

Ben glanced at the clock over Chantal's shoulder, his eyes widening. "Mom is gonna kill me." The clock hands indicated that there were five minutes left until eleven, and he wondered how the queen had left him alone until then. He stepped away from Chantal, picking up his blankets from the floor.

"No, no," Chantal assured him quickly as he made his way to the bathroom. "She believed you deserved a rest. But while you were lounging in bed, lazy pants, I have already been getting to know all the girls! They are _tres magnifique_!"

"What did you tell them about me?" Ben demanded as he shut the bathroom door behind him. Chantal was like a sister to him, in more ways than one. It didn't help that she'd witnessed almost all of his most embarrassing moments.

"Nothing!" she sang cheerfully, her voice muffled by the wall between them. He shook his head to himself. While Chantal was seventeen, she certainly acted like the fourteen-year-old Tori on occasion. When he came out of the bathroom, she had already left.

Thankfully, he saw Chantal again at lunch as he sat down. His mother was glaring at him, and he was sure he would be lectured once they were alone.

Avoiding eye contact with his family, he chatted with several of the Selected, asking how their day had been so far. Apparently, Elodie had taught Eliza how to roller skate, and they were both extremely excited as they told him the news.

He was walking up the stairs to his room when he saw a figure sitting on the third-floor steps, a book in hand. Pausing, he took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Apolline," he greeted.

The French princess looked up from the pages. "Ben."

Apolline Dubois shared many things with her younger sister; their blonde hair and facial features were almost identical, and they both had a taste for gossip. Even then, they still had their many differences. While Chantal liked to annoy others but stay out of trouble, her older sister lived for breaking the rules. Her flimsy white top and blue tulle skirt gave her an air of innocence, but Ben knew better. If anything ever happened to the heir of France, Eleonore, he seriously feared for the country's fate.

Once upon a time, when he was still a little thirteen year old, Ben had liked the older girl. He'd admired her bold and carefree attitude even though he knew she was a bad influence. However, his small crush had been replaced by frustration and jealousy a few years later.

He was frustrated with how she never listened to anyone and was determined to do everything in her own way. Her rebellious nature had once been refreshing, but now it was just a bother. To him, she seemed like an immature child who didn't want to grow up and accept reality.

However, he was also jealous of those exact things. She didn't have the burden of being an heir lying on her shoulders. She could do as she pleased and nobody would care. The cameras wouldn't follow her everywhere and she was in control of her own life.

Often, Ben wondered how different his life would be if Marinette had been born a few minutes earlier.

"You weren't at lunch," he accused, frowning.

"I'm glad you noticed," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I would've thought you were too caught up in your thirty-five girlfriends."

"Twenty-nine," he corrected automatically, feeling a familiar pang in his chest as he thought of the girls that had left. While he hadn't been sorry to see AJ and Maria go, he still missed Elliana. Some part of him was happy for her, now that she was living in her own happily ever after. Still, some part of him still wondered if they ever could've had a chance. He thought back to the wedding invitation which had arrived yesterday morning and wondered if he would have the guts to go.

"Wow," Apolline remarked. "Did you scare the other six away?"

"I'm not as terrifying as you," he pointed out. There was some truth behind his statement; when angry, Apolline made him extremely scared.

She laughed politely, but to Ben it sounded forced. He shifted from one foot to another awkwardly, not sure what to say next. It had been three years since he'd last seen Apolline, and she had not left on a good note. Accidentally letting rats into the palace wasn't considered proper princess behavior in his parents' books.

"How has the Selection been so far?" she asked, taking him aback. He hadn't thought Apolline would be interested in his love life.

"Um…" Ben tried to think of one word that would sum up his experiences so far. "Not what I expected," he finished, proud of himself for finding a decent reply.

Clearly, Apolline wasn't buying it. "Details."

Ben sighed. There was absolutely no getting out of this; when Apolline Dubois wanted something, she usually got it. He decided to stall for the time being, seeing as he had no interest in telling Apolline about the Selected. "I thought this entire experience would be terrible, but it seems like it's really putting the haters at bay."

"When have you cared about the haters?" Apolline demanded, crossing her arms. "Tell me about the girls."

He huffed loudly, but decided that there wasn't any real harm. Apolline wasn't the type to backstab him by telling the girls what he thought of them. "Well, I've been on dates with a third of them or something. So far, most of the girls I've gone on dates with are all really nice. I interacted with a few of them at group events, and I've got one planned tomorrow that will give me a chance to get to know some others."

"Do you like them?" Apolline pressed on.

"Yes." Ben couldn't help the smile on his face as he thought about the girls that had been at the palace for the past days. "Which makes this even harder for me," he added, frowning. "I have to make an elimination by Wednesday."

Apolline raised an eyebrow. "Before we're leaving? How many are you going to eliminate?"

"As few as possible," Ben admitted. "I feel bad because I haven't really gotten to know them yet, so there's not a whole lot of connection there." Any of those girls could be his soulmate, but he would have no way of knowing if he sent them home. It was like he wasn't even giving them a chance.

"Don't feel bad about that," Apolline told him in the most sympathetic tone he'd ever heard her use. "The Selection is a competition, and they should be able to realise that."

"I should probably try and spend time with the girls I'm considering sending home," Ben remarked, mostly to himself. When he told Apolline who he had in mind, she nodded in agreement.

"They seem like good choices," she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. "They're nice, but there's nothing special about them, and I don't think they're compatible with you." Her eyes brightened as she seemed to remember something. "Oh right! I was in the hallway earlier and heard some of the girls talking. It's a girl's birthday on Tuesday, and she mentioned something about wishing she could have a ball. She's the half Japanese one?"

"Klara?" Ben guessed. She'd mentioned on her form that she was Japanese, but would never have known otherwise due to her golden hair. "Alright then."

He took his seat next to Apolline, already starting to think about party ideas that the flirtatious blonde might like. "Looks like you have to help me plan a ball."

The gleam in Apolline's eyes made him slightly wary, but he knew that she would love to do something interesting for once. "I'm in."

* * *

Hey guys!

So I mostly just wanted to use this chapter to let you guys get to know the current situation with the Selected a bit better, but I guess it did end up being kind of boring, so sorry about that :/

Next chapter will definitely be a whole lot more eventful, because I've got something pretty fun planned that will definitely involve a lot of interaction with the girls!

Until next time!

~Rysa


	18. We Own The Night

I'm so sorry for the huge long wait you guys had to go through for this chapter, even though literally nobody reads this anymore. I originally had an entire chapter written out, but I decided it was fucking crap and just backspaced it. Without further ado, I present to you… The birthday ball! :D

* * *

"Presenting His Royal Highness, Prince Benvolio Schreave!"

All the movement in the ballroom stopped as he walked in. He'd grown accustomed to the extra attention after two weeks of the Selection, but it was still unnerving for so many girls to all turn to him at once. Many of them were hanging around the food table, but most of them were already on the dance floor, socialising with each other and the few guards that had been chosen as dancing partners.

There was a familiar energy in the air, as Ben's whole life had been filled with hundreds upon thousands of balls, yet somehow, this event didn't seem as structured and formal as the others. It might have been due to his role in planning it, but he felt that having the girls around really put him at ease.

"How is the food?" he asked Apolline as he made his way to one of the seats around the ballroom.

Apolline beamed, placing another forkful of chocolate cake into her mouth. "It's stunning. Honestly, Lilianne, you outdid yourself."

The blonde girl's blush was visible even with the makeup on her face. "Oh, it's not that good," she insisted, waving her hand dismissively. Still, it was obvious to see how proud she was. "I had help from the other girls. A few of them had cooking experience."

He followed her gaze to see a large crowd of the Selected sampling some of the desserts. "Which girls?" he asked curiously. He didn't know very much about what happened behind the scenes during the Selection, but he was glad that they were all getting along. To Ben, it was strange to be dating a lot of girls who were best friends, but that was just how the Selection was.

"Well, Leia and Selina came up with a lot of the desserts," Lilianne began, casting a look over her shoulder. Leia was serving herself a slice of lemon loaf while Selina stood next to the orchestra with her eyes closed, swaying to the music. "They've got a surprising amount of imagination. Without them, there would be no toasted s'more truffle pops or chocolate chip crumble pizza."

The names sounded delicious to Ben, and he resolved to try them later. Now he was even more glad he had asked Lilianne to help prepare the food, even if he had given her a timespan of only two days.

"I don't know a lot about ballroom food," Lilianne continued, this time glancing at Olivia. "Olivia helped me with that. Ira is great in the kitchen, and she was so fun to work with. A lot of other girls just helped mix or stir, but overall, it was awesome, and the desserts are worthy of the palace."

"Any recommendations?" Ben wasn't sure how he'd ever choose out of the hundreds of options lining the table.

Apolline jumped in quickly. "The panna cottas. Especially the lemon panna cotta with raspberry sauce."

"My personal favorite are the coconut key lime cheesecake bars," Lilianne added, her blue eyes shining. "The double chocolate chunk raspberry cookies seem to be the general favorite though." She let out a laugh. "You should've seen Amethyst's face when she sampled them! I believe the exact wording she used was 'the second best thing in this world aside from music.'"

Ben found that he had to agree with Amethyst, though not about music. Crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside, the cookies were the best thing he'd tried, and considering he'd lived his entire life in a palace, that was saying something. The chocolate and raspberries were both very sweet and he loved the fruity tang the raspberries added to the cookies. He wanted so badly to take another one, but instead settled for a plastic cup of orange Russian cream.

His attention was directed to the ballroom doors as the page announced in a loud voice, "Lady Klara Flitie of Lakedon!" Everyone in the room started clapping, and Ben placed his now empty cup on the table to join in.

The birthday girl herself walked through the door, dressed in a figure-hugging silver gown adorned with sequins and sparkles that caught the light as she moved. He was amused to see that she'd worn something decent for once, but his breath was taken away by how radiant she looked. There was even a silver tiara resting on her braided blonde updo, though he wasn't sure who had approved it.

She looked like a true princess.

"Ben!" she greeted, her green eyes lighting up as she approached him in the middle of the dance floor. "Thank you so much for planning this! It's amazing!"

Ben felt his cheeks heat up. He wasn't the best future king Illea could have, but he felt glad that at least he had one talent. "I'm glad you like it," he said, taking her delicate hand in his. "Happy birthday, Klara."

She smiled back, and for once, it looked genuine. "Are you going to join the birthday girl for her first dance?" she teased.

He hesitated for a moment. Of course it would be proper of him to dance with Klara, seeing as the ball had been held for her, but it had been a long time since he'd last danced at a ball. He'd been an exceptional dancer a year ago, but with so much of the country rebelling against him, there had been no opportunity to just have fun.

But it was Klara's birthday, and if he had to fall over himself, literally, just to make her happy, he would. The Selected meant the world to him.

He placed his hand on Klara's waist and guided her gently across the floor. At first they simply stepped in time to the music, but soon the moves came naturally to him. Being from a higher caste, Klara seemed to have a basic understanding of ballroom dancing, so for the entire song they whirled around the ballroom together.

They didn't talk much aside from a few apologies when they stepped on each other's feet, but he was completely fine with that. He didn't know her very well and was still figuring out most of the girls. Even though he was usually a talkative person, there was something enchanting about the way they swayed to and fro to only the sounds of the palace orchestra.

After one last twirl, the music stopped, only to be replaced by a much more upbeat song. Bowing to Klara and wishing her a happy birthday one last time, Ben walked off, already knowing who to dance with.

Sydney let out a surprised squawk — the sound was hilarious and he would mock her forever for it — as Ben dragged her into the center of the room. "Why me?" she demanded, her hands on her hips, though she didn't seem too peeved.

"You're a tiger and elephant dancer," Ben reminded her jokingly, grabbing her hand.

"Yes, but that's circus dancing!" she insisted, though she appeared to be wavering. "Ballroom dancing is the opposite! Besides, how am I supposed to move in this dress?"

Ben glanced at her outfit and rolled his eyes. He'd seen foreign dignitaries ace a jig in dresses much fancier than Sydney's backless cream-and-silver gown. "It's simple. I'll show you through the moves." Before Sydney could object, he swept her into a fast-paced dance, and she huffed loudly but followed his lead.

While Sydney wasn't very graceful, she was a quick learner and was no longer stepping on his feet by the time the song ended. "That was more fun than I'd thought," she admitted as she stopped to catch her breath.

"Not so different from circus dancing after all?" Ben pressed, earning him a laugh.

"They're polar opposites," she assured him. "Though not as different as one of those slower songs might be."

He suggested that she try out a waltz to see if her verdict was true, causing her to run away as quickly as she could in her heels. Rolling his eyes to himself, he decided to take a break and grab some more of Lilianne's snacks.

Halfway through his paper plate of red velvet churros, he was joined by Viera. "Oh, hey, Your Highness," she said casually as if she hadn't planned to meet him there.

Ben was momentarily distracted. She was looking ravishing in a flowy wine-hued dress and her hair was in its usual high ponytail. The V-shaped neckline wasn't low enough to be inappropriate, but showed off a silver charm necklace that rested on her collarbone. "Viera," he greeted through a mouthful of food, glad that Marinette was on the other side of the room and wouldn't be able to lecture him about his manners. "How has your night been so far?"

"Good," she mused as she helped herself to some meringues. "Some of the guards are great dance partners."

"Ouch," Ben muttered sarcastically, causing Viera to giggle. "I'm being replaced."

"I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to dance later on tonight," she promised.

His smile brightened. He originally hadn't planned out the night, but dancing with a professional ballerina sounded fun, if not a bit intimidating. "I'll be looking forward to seeing the great Viera Rostova in action."

Viera's pale cheeks reddened slightly, and she brushed a loose strand of her dark brown hair out of her face. Though she was trying to hide it, it was clear she appreciated the praise. Ben realised that she was one of the girls he didn't know very well, as their date had given them little opportunities for conversation. "So tell me a bit about yourself," he suggested. "What the real Viera is like."

Her smile slipped from her face and he wondered if he'd said the wrong thing. "I…" She seemed to be at a lost for words and looked behind her. "Oh, Ira is waving at me, I'd better go see what she wants!" Ben raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Viera backed away. However, he felt guilty for triggering such a response. What had he done wrong?

The orchestra started up another waltz and he figured that a dance would help him take his mind off Viera's strange behavior. He didn't have to look far for a partner because he saw Luna and Amethyst together, talking in the center of the room.

"Do you mind if I borrow Luna for a second, Amethyst?" he asked. Luna looked delighted while Amethyst seemed to be concealing disappointment. She ventured off in Arylih's direction, leaving Ben and Luna alone.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. It had been a few days since they'd ran into each other in the kitchens and there had been little chance to talk to her up until now.

Luna smiled. "Wonderful, now that you're here." Her statement sounded genuine, not fake in any way, and it made him happy to know that someone cared about him even if it was only three weeks into the Selection.

"Such a charmer," he joked, prompting an innocent shrug from Luna. "Seeing as you're feeling so wonderful, would you like to dance?"

Luna's brown eyes sparkled. "I'd love to," she agreed.

They fell into place easily, and though Luna wasn't a very experienced dancer, Ben felt that they really fitted together. It felt right to have the petite Luna in his arms, and he couldn't help but be reminded of their kiss.

Almost too soon, the song ended. Ben would have stayed dancing with Luna all night if he could, but after remembering Amethyst's hurt expression he decided his next act would be to seek her out. He found her by the catering table and grabbed one of the panna cottas, which Apolline had recommended (if he continued eating at this rate, he would become fat).

"I'm sorry if I upset you," he began, taking a straight-to-the-point approach. "It's hard for me to balance this thirty-five girlfriend thing, you know?" He realised that she probably didn't know because she was in a very different situation, but hoped he'd gotten his message across. He genuinely didn't want to offend any of the girls. It was one of the downsides to the Selection.

Amethyst broke into a relieved smile, though Ben suspected it was mostly because of the double chocolate chunk raspberry cookie she was eating. "It's fine," she assured him. "It's just a bit weird for me. Luna's one of my good friends and all, but I do really like you, and I know she does too. It reminded me that this is a competition, I guess."

Ben supposed he should've concentrated on the rest of her sentence, but the admission that she liked him stuck in his mind, and he felt sure he was grinning like an idiot. "Well, you don't have to worry too much about competition."

Her beautiful blue-green eyes lighting up, Ben felt sure he'd said the right thing for once. Amethyst was one of the easier girls to read and he'd seen nothing but happiness and kindness from her. Though he'd only known her for three weeks, he could tell she was a good person, through and through. "Did you tell all the other girls that?" she asked teasingly, and he was glad she could find some humour in the situation.

"Haven't gotten round to it yet," he quipped as he wrapped his arms around her. She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, but he hoped that she realised he'd meant his words.

Speaking about competition reminded him of Fleur, and after asking Amethyst about her band, he departed, his eyes scanning the room for the blonde girl. He hadn't had the promised date with her yet, which he felt a bit guilty about, and was determined to fit it into his schedule for the week.

He finally found Fleur standing at the corner of the room as she watched the orchestra wistfully. "Impressive, right?" he asked.

Fleur nearly jumped as she turned to him, clearly startled. "Oh, Your Highness, I didn't see you there."

He could bet she hadn't. She seemed entranced by the music, and even as she talked to him, her light blue eyes kept wandering back to the orchestra. "Please, call me Ben."

"Ben," Fleur corrected herself immediately, before turning back to the orchestra. "And yes, they're incredible." She let out a soft sigh, and Ben felt like he was seeing a new music-loving side of Fleur that she hadn't displayed in their date. She seemed a lot more at ease when she was just by herself.

"Are you in an orchestra back home in Paloma?" Ben asked curiously. She'd proven to be very talented at playing the cello and he was sure she was good enough to get into an orchestra.

Much to his surprise, Fleur shook her head. "I only take jobs when I can," she admitted, a hint of resentment creeping into her voice.

"I'm sure that'll change when you get home," he said, thinking about how famous Fleur would be when she left. Then, as Fleur turned to stare at him quizzically, his eyes widened. He'd just made it sound like he'd be eliminating Fleur. "I mean, not that that'll be soon… I mean, if you go home… I…" Finally accepting defeat, he threw his hands up. "You know what I mean, right?"

Fleur gave him an amused smile. "It's alright. I get it." He sighed in relief, wondering how he always managed to screw conversations up. "So about-"

A loud scream caused her to stop mid-sentence and they both turned in the direction of the shouting. For a moment, Ben was worried that there were rebels, or that something had happened to someone. He ran over to take a closer look, Fleur right on his heels.

Klara was holding a hand to her face and looked like she was holding back tears. Ben's eyes widened at the angry red imprint on it, and his eyes flitted back and forth between Klara and Lisa, who was standing in front of Klara and looked like she couldn't process what had just happened.

Ben was about to question them when Klara got there first. "Why did you hit me?" she asked Lisa, and the tears started welling up in her eyes. "What did I ever do to you?"

Lisa was staring in shock at her own hand, but didn't stop herself from shooting Klara a glare. "You can try all you-"

"What's going on?" Marinette demanded, pushing apart the gathering crowd and nearly sending Fleur crashing into Ben.

Klara pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Lisa. "She hit me!" she accused loudly.

Ben's eyes widened. In all their encounters, Lisa had seemed like a kind and humorous girl whose family mattered to her more than anything. Even now, as she stood there in shock, he had a hard time picturing her as the type to hit someone for no reason.

Marinette gave Ben a look that clearly shouted, _Do something, you big fat bass!_ His first instinct was to eliminate Lisa on the spot, because physical violence wasn't tolerated in any way. Did he really want to marry someone who slapped others on the face at their birthday parties? However, seeing Lisa's pleading gaze, he let a small sigh slip out. "Lady Lisa, could you please follow me outside?"

All eyes were on them as Lisa nervously followed Ben out of the ballroom. Once they had left, Ben took a few moments to control his anger. Then, finally, Lisa spoke up.

"Am I going home?" she asked timidly.

Ben was terrible when it came to solving conflicts, and he wasn't sure how to respond. He wanted to give her a chance, but he also didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Is that a yes?" Lisa asked, her eyes shining with tears that hadn't fallen yet. "Your Highness, please, I can explain-"

"There's nothing to explain," Ben snapped, a little more harshly than he intended, and he regretted it as tears started streaking down Lisa's cheeks. However, he was also extremely annoyed that the night had been disturbed. It was Klara's birthday, yet she'd been cruelly slapped on the face, even with foreign royalty visiting. For now, he was too tired to deal with Lisa, so he did the only thing which came to mind. "Go to your room. I'll see to you after the ball's over. You'd better have come up with a good excuse by then." As Lisa burst out sobbing and ran down the corridor, he felt bad, but quickly brushed the thoughts aside. He was going to be the future king one day, he couldn't afford to be soft.

The ball was much quieter when he returned to the room, Klara had procured an ice pack, and once again he found himself mad at Lisa for ruining the happy atmosphere. Even sharing a cupcake with Selina couldn't help him calm down, and by the time the ball was almost halfway done, Ben found it hard to keep his anger under control.

He usually wasn't someone who got angrily easily, but when someone upset something he cared about or ruined something he'd put a lot of effort into, they would have hell to pay.

For now, though, as he finished a slice of the much-looked-forward-to chocolate chip crumble pizza, he tried to focus on the ball and enjoy the night, because he doubted he would be able to have any fun soon with eliminations right around the corner.

* * *

Hey guys!

If this chapter seemed list-like or badly written, I'm really sorry! I tried to fit a lot of the girls in, but with 29, that's no easy task. The ending kind of slid downhill drastically if you're looking at writing quality, but I was getting seriously tired and had a ton of writer's block, so I hope this wasn't too boring for you. And let's be real, this chapter was hella boring. Just look forward to the next chapter, or not really.

I'm always open to constructive criticism and feedback, but keep in mind that my writing isn't the best quality at times. I'm actually supposed to be finishing homework right now, but shh, that's between you and me.

And yes, there is an elimination next chapter! I feel terrible, because honestly, some of the characters I've received are so detailed and fun to write, but in the end, only ten will remain for the Elite, and only one will win. It won't be a huge number, and most of you reviewers shouldn't have much to worry about. Just know that if you keep leaving me feedback on which characters you like, your faves have a much higher chance of staying in the Selection :) I want to apologise in advance if I eliminate your character, every elimination I conduct will take me a hella long time to decide because I really don't want to offend anyone!

By the way guys, I just noticed that we currently have 100+ reviews! That's crazy, honestly. XOStarbrightXO was my 100th reviewer, but I love y'all equally. Thank you for supporting me all through this crazy ride, I'll continue uploading chapters for you guys! Even if you're busy, reviews always make my day, so continue dropping them :)

Also guys, we are so close to 20 chapters. I usually ditch my previous stories at around 11 chapters, but I promise I'll write this one to the very end! I love Ben and the girls way too much to even think about quitting this one, and I've got tons of plots planned for y'all! (That, and L.C. Carraway actually thinks my writing is good for some reason so I've got extra motivation.)

Until next time!

~Rysa


	19. Don't Let Me Fall

One of the things Ben hated about the Selection were the eliminations.

The first five had come to him easily because they'd given him a bad impression just through one simple conversation. However, Ben had tossed and turned all night trying to decide who to send home now, once he'd gotten to know them a bit better. His fathers' advisors had been bugging him about it until he had absolutely no choice, and here he was in his office with three girls standing before him.

Lisa Warren seemed to know what she was there for, as she seemed subdued. She kept on fiddling nervously with her fingers. Momentarily, Ben felt bad. In their initial conversation, Lisa had admitted that her family was very poor and she cared deeply about them. His anger from the ball had evaporated over time and he wasn't as keen to let her go anymore. However, after a long lecture from his father's advisors, he'd decided that it would be best to send Lisa home, otherwise there would be millions of protesters asking why he hadn't eliminated someone who'd been violent. Wasn't the entire point of the Selection to please the public? Still, he felt terrible about it. He wished there was some way he could make it up to her.

Ben couldn't tell how Nora Callaghan was feeling, but she was regarding him suspiciously with her brown eyes. Since the moment they'd met, Nora had been one of the hardest girls to read, and he could never tell how she was feeling. It wasn't exactly a trait he was looking for in a wife, and the way she analysed everything unnerved him the slightest bit. He knew he should've given her more of a chance, but he felt that they just weren't compatible. She was too quiet and mysterious, the opposite of many other girls in the Selection.

Hadley Rosario adjusted her glasses and smiled in Ben's direction. Clearly, she had no clue what she was doing there. Hadley was friendly enough, but her bluntness often perplexed Ben. She didn't seem to quite grasp the understanding of what a joke was, and to Ben, who fooled around a lot, it was frustrating. He wished he could've gotten to know her better, but it was his future on the line, and he just couldn't see her ruling by his side.

"You're probably wondering why I've called you here," Ben began, swallowing hard. He was expecting an angry reaction from at least Nora and possibly even Hadley, but neither of them seemed to have any change in expression. "Well, I think you're all great girls."

Hadley grinned relievedly, but Nora and Lisa didn't seem the slightest bit fooled. Nora's eyes were narrowed as she stared at him threateningly, and he repressed a shiver.

"I'm so sorry, though, because in the end, only one girl will remain. So… you're dismissed."

A single tear slid down Lisa's cheek and Nora fidgeted from one foot to the other. Hadley's mouth dropped open and she started blinking fast, as if she couldn't quite process the fact she was going home and was fighting back tears.

"I just don't think we're compatible. I'm sorry."

He deserved a medal for the most awkward elimination speech in the history of Selections. Somewhere far away, great-great-great-times-a-million grandpa Maxon had probably just turned in his grave.

There was a loud moment of silence where Nora's stare seemed even more intimidating and Ben wanted nothing more than to run away. Then, at long last, Hadley gave him a little curtsy, sniffling. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," she said respectfully, if not sadly. Then, she left the room.

Nora was the next to go. She didn't speak, but her disappointment was clear as she turned around and closed the door behind her. He'd been expecting something more dramatic from her, but he suspected that people like Nora dealed differently with their emotions.

Lisa seemed to have found her voice as soon as Nora had disappeared. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry too," Ben admitted. Lisa looked up, surprised by his words. "I should've given you a chance. I wish I could've."

Lisa frowned, which was a bit of a change from how he'd expected her to act. She seemed to consider carefully for a moment before saying, "Klara's a bitch. Don't trust her, Your Highness."

Leaving Ben wide-eyed, she exited the room. He couldn't comprehend what she'd just said. He'd thought Klara was the innocent one, but maybe he should've heard both sides of what had happened at the ball. Or could it be that Lisa was simply jealous? Whatever the case, Ben would be thinking twice before eliminating someone now.

He knocked on Chantal's room, and a second later, the French princess came flying out and barrelled into him, crushing him in a hug.

"I cannot believe I have to leave already!" she wailed, and for once, her cheerfulness was completely gone. "How will you manage the Selection without me?"

Ben would've told her that he'd been doing just fine without her visit and she hadn't affected anything if he wasn't desperate for air. "Chantal, get off," he manage to gasp out. The blonde pouted but stepped back, and he inhaled deeply as soon as the pressure left his bones.

"Who says you have to leave?" Ben spun around to see Apolline standing just across the hallway. "Eleonore and I will be fine in France. You could always remain here, Chantal."

Chantal practically jumped up with excitement. "I can?"

"Sure, why not?" Ben said, smiling at her giddiness. "You can help Katelyn train some of the girls. You're a royal, after all."

" _Superb!_ " Chantal squealed. Her face fell however as she turned to her older sister. "Apolline, are you not staying?"

Apolline shook her head as she locked eyes with Ben. "There is nothing really here for me."

Chantal frowned and wrapped her arms around Apolline like a monkey. However, unlike Ben, Apolline smiled and hugged her younger sister back. "The limousine will be leaving soon. Do not get into too much trouble, Chantal."

Ben found it ironic, coming from Apolline, but Chantal nodded sadly before bursting into tears and squeezing her sister even tighter.

After a few rapid sentences of French which Ben couldn't quite catch, Apolline strode down the hall and Chantal turned to him, all her sadness forgotten. _She's just like that,_ he noted amusedly. _Her mind's always focused on the next big thing._

"Where is Katelyn?" she asked, referring to the royal planner who'd taught the girls' lessons for the past two weeks. She was an old friend of his mother's, and the queen had decided she'd be best for the job. So far, Katelyn had seemed to be fully immersed in her work, and an assistant would do her good. After all, it couldn't be easy to teach Illea's next queen.

Despite some of her annoying qualities, Ben couldn't help but smile as he realised Chantal would be at the palace for the duration of his Selection. She was practically like a sibling to him.

He couldn't wait to see what would unfold.

* * *

 _"Why are you still here, Warren?"_

 _…despite Klara's smile, the hostility was still apparent in her green eyes…_

 _"You're just a Seven. A tunnel digger."_

 _…her hands balled into fists as she struggled to keep her composure…_

 _"Did you really think you'd make it far into this competition?"_

 _…for a brief moment, she imagined her hand striking Klara's face…_

 _"Are you really that desperate to help your family?"_

 _…and she wanted to shut her up so badly…_

 _"You're not good enough for this competition."_

 _…but the worst part was that Klara was right…_

 _"Your family's a bunch of worthless Sevens anyways."_

 _…it was the last straw…_

 _It all happened too fast and before Lisa knew it, her hand had struck Klara's face, which was now glistening with tears. But it was impossible for Lisa to miss the victorious gleam in her eyes, and she knew that Klara Flitie had won this battle._

* * *

Ben met up with Arylih in the hallway after he'd finished his lunch. "Ready for rock climbing?" he asked.

"Would now be a good time to mention that I've never been rock climbing before?" Arylih joked, but despite her casual tone, she looked somewhat nervous. Even if she had no experience, she'd chosen a suitable outfit for the activity, a peach hued tank top with a pair of gray pants that reached her calves. Her wavy dark brown hair was in a medium-high ponytail, complimented by a white headband.

He let out a relieved laugh. "That makes two of us." Even though it happened all the time, one of Ben's biggest fears was being showed up. Losing to people or failing at tasks was somewhat of an embarrassment to him; he was the most powerful boy in the country, after all. If he couldn't survive an 800m run or flip a pancake, he couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

"So, do you have a private gym in the palace or something?" Arylih asked as they descended the stairs leading underground.

Recalling the facilities which the guards spent a lot of time in, Ben nodded. "We do, actually. But we haven't got a climbing wall installed yet — it's on my father's list of possible projects — so we're going into Angeles today."

Arylih seemed excited about the prospect of seeing Illea's capital city. "The only time I saw Angeles was when I came for the Selection. Are we doing any sightseeing?"

As Ben opened the garage doors, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Have you seen the weather today? It's probably going to rain within a few hours, so we'll just stay inside the rock climbing center." Seeing Arylih's face fall, he added quickly, "It'll be fun, I promise." He waved to the chauffeur — whose name he didn't know, he realised awkwardly — and clambered into the car, Arylih following suit.

They pulled out of the garage and into the streets of Angeles. Ben hadn't been wrong; the sky was dark and gloomy, and he was thankful he hadn't chosen an outdoor location to visit. Arylih was temporarily awed at the sight and leaned against the window, taking in everything.

"So what do you do back in Likely?" Though Ben had spoken to her a couple of times in group dates, he still didn't know very much about her, and the Selected applications had been lost in some far corner of his desk long ago. He was already impressed with himself for remembering her province.

"I work in our family's jewelry shop," she explained as she turned back to him. "My pieces are the ones most sold, actually."

As a boy who'd always considered himself very manly, Ben never had any jewelry except his royal signet ring. However, he still knew quite a bit about it from his twin sisters. "What kinds of jewelry do you make?"

"Necklaces, bracelets, earrings and all that stuff." Arylih seemed to brighten just thinking about her job. "It's really fun, but it gets tiring. I'm a total perfectionist when it comes to jewelry making, and it takes me so many attempts to get something right."

A sudden idea formed in Ben's head, but he couldn't dwell too much on it as the chauffeur stopped the car outside a large building. "We're here, Your Highness, Lady Arylih," he announced, stepping out and opening the door for him. "The guards are already stationed inside. Have fun."

"Thank you, um, Sir," Ben said awkwardly, not sure what to call the chauffeur.

Luckily, the chauffeur picked up on this and bowed. "Rollan Tyer. At your service, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Rollan," Ben amended. First Brock, and now Rollan. If he continued at this rate, he would know all the palace staff by the end of the Selection. Still, it felt good to learn the names of people who served him. He wasn't sure how, but it made them seem less distant.

A couple of guards marched Ben and Arylih into the rock climbing center, which he thought was a bit unnecessary considering it was only a couple of steps. There, a girl greeted them, looking to be a couple of years older than Ben.

"Your Highness! And Lady Arylih! It's so lovely to have you both here today," she said excitedly. She continued talking, introducing herself as Margo Mills and their instructor for the day. As she led them into the bouldering gym, she went over a few basic rules of rock climbing.

"I always love helping beginners," she exclaimed. "More, even, if it's the crown prince, and our possible future queen! I love this sport, and I'm so glad to share it with others." Looking at the way her face lit up when she spoke, Ben didn't doubt it. She seemed at ease in the gym, and rock climbing seemed to be the center of her world.

He wondered if he'd find someone, one day, who he cared as much about. If he'd grow excited every time she walked into the room and enjoy every little second he spent with her.

Margo gestured towards a bench, where two piles of equipment had been placed. "That's for both of you. Start with putting on the harness."

Putting on the harness proved to be more difficult than Ben had expected. It took him five tries before he'd finally succeeded in wearing it the right way. Arylih, however, had figured it out almost immediately and was laughing at his stupidity while she tightened the straps around her legs.

Next were the climbing helmets. Ben didn't think the helmets were necessary, but he had no interest in crashing his head into the wall, so he complied and tightened his helmet at the back of his head.

"Which one of you would like to climb first?" Margo asked as she placed her own helmet on her head.

Arylih turned to Ben excitedly. "Can I?" she pleaded. He agreed, so Margo attached one of the ropes from the wall to Arylih's harness with a large carabiner. She then turned to Ben, attaching a different device to his harness.

"What's this for?" Ben asked curiously.

"Well, your job is to belay Arylih," Margo explained. "You have to give her rope, and if she falls, you can secure her in her place and prevent her from injuring herself. We call these things ATCs. The rope goes through it, and if you pull the rope this way you're lifting her. To let her down, feed the rope through the other way. Slowly, of course!"

Ben was undeniably nervous about being solely responsible for Arylih's safety, but after Margo told him she was also secured by a rope from the ceiling, he felt more at ease.

"Belay on?" Arylih asked from her place at the foot of the wall, just a few centimetres in front of him.

"On belay," Ben confirmed, nodding as seriously as he could without bursting into laughter. "Climb when ready."

Arylih started scaling the wall, hesitantly, at first, but after a while her steps became more sure and her movements faster. Ben kept feeding her rope whenever she asked for some, or simply by his own judgement. He was just thinking about how easy this was when Arylih let out a scream and her foot slipped.

He quickly pulled the rope in the opposite direction, successfully locking the rope in place. "Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring rock climbing protocol.

"I'm fine!" she called down, looking like she was close to laughter. She was dangling several feet in the air, swinging back and forth near the wall. Reaching out, she grabbed one of the footholds and was back climbing.

A few minutes later, Ben's hands were getting sore from belaying Arylih, but he didn't have to worry too much due to Arylih reaching the top of the wall. "I did it!" she cheered. If he hadn't been belaying her, Ben would've clapped along with Margo.

After carefully lowering her to the ground and switching equipment with one another, it was Ben's turn. "Is it okay to admit that I'm terrified?" he asked Arylih as he placed one hand onto the wall.

Arylih rolled her eyes. "I believe you mean, 'Belay on?'"

Ben grinned, his nerves partly forgotten. "Right. Belay on?"

"On belay, climb when ready!"

One of the things Ben never thought he'd do in his life was rock climb. It wasn't a very princely pastime, especially for someone unfit like him, and he had not been expecting to take one of his girlfriends to a rock climbing center. It was difficult at first to move up the wall, as his feet and hands struggled to find places big enough to rest. Even so, he still found the feeling amazing as he climbed up the wall. He was practically defying gravity.

He very nearly slipped from the wall several times, but he was comforted by the knowledge that Arylih would save him if he fell. Sometimes, footholds were hard to access, and he didn't dare move more than a few centimetres at a time. About halfway up the wall, his arms were aching, and he turned to look at the tiny figure of Arylih.

"I think I'm ready to come down," he called. Arylih looked disappointed but began lowering him to the floor.

"Wasn't that cool?" she asked excitedly. Ben nodded. While it had been tiring and stressful, it had been fun, and he could see how people like Margo loved it.

"Do you want to climb again?" he suggested, and before he knew it, he found himself at the gym for several more hours, and was even persuaded by Arylih to climb once again. He still didn't quite make it to the top, but was much closer than the previous time.

"I had a great time," she confessed as they stepped out of the rock climbing center. In the few hours they'd been inside, the dark clouds in the sky had gotten nearer, and Ben felt a lone drop on his nose.

"That's the point," he replied jokingly. However, he really was pleased to hear that Arylih had enjoyed rock climbing. The truth was, he had too, and he knew Arylih wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. He couldn't wait to spend time with her again and already had an idea. "Come on, let's get inside the car before the rain really starts."

A steady shower had formed by the time they arrived at the palace. Ben dropped Arylih off at her room and headed to dinner, being too lazy to change out of his t-shirt and shorts. He was a little bit early, so he waited for a few minutes as the girls trickled in. Chantal was more than happy to talk about her first day as Katelyn's assistant and filled him in on all the things they had taught the girls.

"You're early today," Aaliyah noted as she took her seat, sounding impressed. "Though what's with the outfit?"

Ben shrugged. "I was too lazy to change," he responded truthfully. Aaliyah frowned, then let out a hearty laugh.

"I suppose that's to be expected," she sighed.

Once all the girls were seated — he grinned in Arylih's direction — Ben started digging into his meal. Though of course he preferred cheeseburgers, today's roasted chicken with pepper was the best he'd ever tasted.

He was halfway through dessert, a bowl of tiramisu, when he nearly choked as he remembered his plans for the rest of the evening. He desperately hoped it wasn't still raining, but one quick glance out of the garden doors after he'd been excused from dinner proved him unlucky.

What was he supposed to do now? He retreated to his room to attempt to find some alternative, but after half an hour, he gave up and grabbed a large umbrella, making his way towards the roof.

The rain had grown even bigger, and was coming down in torrents now. A lone silhouette stood there, seemingly unaffected by the rain despite not having an umbrella with her. The only protection she had against the harsh weather was a large, pale pink raincoat.

"Andromeda?"

Andromeda jumped around, her stormy gray eyes wide. "Your Highness," she greeted, curtsying.

"No need for that," Ben assured her. He turned his gaze to the sky and grimaced. "I guess stargazing wasn't the best plan for today."

Andromeda didn't reply, only nodding coldly, and Ben frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course nothing's wrong," she said bitterly, turning away from him and crossing her arms over her raincoat.

Ben took a step towards her protectively, but she flinched and backed away. "An, please-"

"Don't call me An," Andromeda spat icily. "You've done nothing to deserve that honor."

Ben felt like his entire world was spinning; he'd never been more confused and hurt in his life. What had he done to offend her? He hadn't known that mischievous and caring Andromeda had a cold side, but he wanted nothing more than to earn her forgiveness for whatever he had done. She was an amazing girl, and if he knew her a bit better he would even consider marrying her.

So he tried again. "Andromeda, I-"

"Don't," Andromeda pleaded, and he was surprised to find tears in her eyes. "You want to know what's wrong? Then I'll tell you what's wrong."

"What do you think you gained by eliminating Lisa? She was there to support her family. I don't think you know what it's like to be hungry, but when your loved ones are starving, it's even worse. I have to take on three jobs, just to keep my eight siblings alive! She would never have caused any violence intentionally."

Her accusations surprised Ben. He hadn't expected her to be so attached to Lisa and, not for the first time that day, regretted sending her home. But his decision had already been made and she was already on a plane back to Labrador, and now that he thought about it, there was no other possible outcome.

"She was a good person. I got to know her during our makeovers, and in these weeks, she's been one of my best friends. I can't believe you sent her home just because she hit someone. Did you even bother to hear her side of the story? Do you know what horrible things Klara said to her? She cried for hours after the ball. You're going to be king one day, yet you still make rash and careless decisions without even thinking about other people."

Ben felt a surge of unfamiliar anger as his grip tightened around the umbrella handle. Somewhere close by, a menacing roll of thunder resonated through the sky, matching his mood perfectly. He stood there for a moment, breathing in and out as he struggled to keep his calm.

Of course he knew he was going to be king. His earliest memory was his parents placing a crown on his head during his first birthday. He'd been disciplined and trained to become the next ruler. From day one, he'd grown up with his future planned out for him.

However, the crown wasn't all there was to him. He wasn't his father, who'd been ruling Illea flawlessly for the past few years. His parentage didn't define his ability to make good choices. He was just like any other human being, yet at the same time, he was different in every way.

And he hated it.

"Do you really think I have amazing judgement?" he snapped, taking a step towards Andromeda. "That being crown prince automatically makes me perfect? That every little mistake I make is unacceptable only because my last name is Schreave?"

Andromeda's expression didn't waver. "You have no idea how lucky you are," she said indignantly.

"Yes, I'm so lucky," Ben retorted sarcastically. "I'm so lucky that people despise me so much, they make public protests calling for my twin sister to take the crown. I'm so lucky that my life has been dictated by all the advisors. I'm so lucky that my life, even my love life, is stalked by the media and I'm never given any privacy."

"But you're never hungry!" Andromeda blurted out. "You're never cold, or tired!"

Ben let out a laugh, but there was little humor in it. Almost every day as he laid on his bed and attempted to sleep, he wished he was a normal person. Even if he had to slave away at a job, earn little and be hungry every day, at least he would be able to choose his own life path. "It's true, I'm never hungry or cold. But do you really think all it takes to be king is to sit on a throne and boss around servants?"

"Yes!" Andromeda said brusquely.

"Well, let me delight you in the inner workings of my life." Ben crossed his arms, breathing in and out, trying to calm himself down before he poured out a rant.

"You want to know why I eliminated Lisa? Because in every decision I make in my stupid, controlled life is controlled by the public, by the king's board of advisors, and by my family. I might seem like all I do is sit on a golden throne, but you don't know half of what hardships I have to suffer. Honestly, before the Selection, I barely paid half a mind towards being crown prince. I wanted nothing more than to abdicate and let Marinette take over, because obviously, that was what the people wanted. This entire Selection wasn't even my idea in the first place!"

Andromeda's mouth fell open at this and she seemed temporarily stunned, giving Ben room to continue his tirade.

"Yes, it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. In fact, I've come to enjoy most of this process. But people still think that it's their job to help me pick my next queen. Marinette's help I don't mind, and the public polls don't have much effect on me, but the board of advisors are relentless. They tell me to start photographing more dates, to host more parties, to accept interviews with news channels, and are practically treating this as a game despite telling me not to do so.

"They kept on reminding me that violence doesn't suit a future queen. That the public would be angry if a Six got away with hitting someone. That keeping her in the competition would just cause more drama and tension.

"And now she's gone, and I never felt an instant connection with her, but I keep on feeling like I could've done something to help her."

Ben finally paused to breathe, inhaling in the cold outside air. The rain was still pelting down on the roof, but the sounds of raindrops spattering his umbrella were pleasing. It temporarily soothed him, and he waited for Andromeda's next blow. He was surprised when she stepped towards him tentatively.

"Is it really…" she paused, "…that difficult?" There was a vulnerability in her eyes he hadn't expected from someone who came off so strongly. Ben responded with a simple nod, and her mouth dropped open. "I… I'm sorry for what I said. I was just missing Lisa, and I didn't think how this would affect you, and I had no clue-"

Ben cut her off by placing a hand on the arm of her raincoat, which was covered with droplets. "It's okay," he soothed her. Despite their gloomy surroundings and the argument they'd just had, they shared a smile, like an assurance that everything was behind them now. It wasn't a huge gesture, but for him, it was more than enough.

"So, I know it's not as great as stargazing," Ben began after a few moments of silence, holding his free hand out to Andromeda. "But would you like to dance?" His umbrella was big enough to keep them both dry, even though Andromeda had her own raincoat, and the view from the roof was quite beautiful. The light from far buildings was visible, though blurred because of the rain, and though no stars could be seen, there was something magical about the steady thrum of the rain as it landed all around them.

She accepted his hand, and they started waltzing in the puddles as the sky shed its tears.

* * *

Hey guys!

I just want to say, I'm really sorry MastaGamerita :( I do try to listen to all my readers, but sometimes plot comes first, and only one girl can remain in the end. This way I can gradually get to a smaller pool of girls so I can give more time to the characters! So sorry! Please don't hate yourself!

I'm also really sorry, Booki. I did like Lisa as a character, but I couldn't get a very clear grasp on what she was like, so I wouldn't have been able to write her accurately. She was a great character, with her loyalty and willingness towards her family, but ultimately, that was her downfall. Hopefully her family will have done better now with the Selection money.

So now we're at 26 girls. Not a huge difference, and I still have a few characters who haven't had much spotlight time yet, which is what I'll be focusing on for the next few chapters. The other two characters eliminated this chapter hadn't been given a lot of time (and they're mine and my IRL friend's), so hopefully I didn't make anyone upset, but know that in the future, as the pool gets smaller, your faves may be more at stake XD

Parts of this chapter weren't very well written, and the entire last section was really rushed, in my opinion, but I honestly haven't updated in forever and I can't think of how to fix this chapter.

Keep on leaving me feedback about the chapters! Honestly, even if it's critical, just reading reviews makes my day. I love knowing that people are reading my story because in my own opinion it's absolutely terrible.

P.S. Meet Rollan Tyer, the newest edition to the stupid-pun-names family.

Until next time!

~Rysa


	20. The Charity Dinner

_Wait, what charity dinner?_

Ben's eyes stopped as he read his plan for the week, written by his mother. It was nothing new, though he had surprisingly little work for once (he planned to use that time for dates). However, in his mother's swirly handwriting and red ballpoint pen she only used for important notes, it read, 'Nichols Education Fund Charity Dinner.'

Aaliyah didn't seem surprised when Ben knocked on the door to her office. "The Francis girl came to us a few months ago, remember?" she reminded him, rolling her eyes in the way people tended to whenever he was involved. "She invited you and your sisters to the dinner, and I paid the fees for three people."

"But mom, I don't want to go to Leon's stupid dinner," Ben complained, crossing his arms. He was well aware of how much he sounded like a spoiled teenager, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It was one of his chief life mottos. "You aren't even going!"

"Stop whining," Aaliyah said sternly, in the tone which meant Ben could't argue. "You're not six anymore, you're eighteen. You're the crown prince and if you go to this charity dinner, you'll be appeasing the public. They'll see that you're taking an interest in funding the education for lower caste children."

Ben knew he had no choice. "Can I please get the rest of the week until Sunday off, then? I've been planning some dates and I really need to spend more time with the girls."

Aaliyah considered this for a moment. "No," she decided, prompting a groan from her only son. "But I will lighten your workload. I'll tell you what: instead of Marinette and Tori, why don't you choose two of the Selected to accompany you?"

For once, his mother had an idea Ben wasn't a hundred percent against. That was how he found himself sprinting down the stairs at a speed he hadn't known he was capable of, many hours later day. He'd lost track of time when he went to the kitchen for an afternoon snack and was eight minutes late to pick up Claire and Olivia from the hallway.

"I am so sorry!" he apologised breathlessly as he reached the Selected rooms, nearly tripping over his own feet. "I got caught up with something, and it took a long time getting ready."

Claire didn't seem too peeved. She was wearing a long black and white evening gown with silver designs that looked like leaves. Her chocolate brown locks were held up in a complicated-looking braided updo which gathered at the nape of her neck. The charity dinner's unspoken dress code was black tie, and whether she'd known it or not, Claire fit the part perfectly. "It's perfectly alright. We understand you have duties."

Ben decided to refrain from mentioning that he'd actually been escaping from a meeting to grab some chips and turned to Olivia. He wasn't sure if the two had coordinated their outfits on purpose, but Olivia's dress was similar to Claire's, except the black top and white skirt were joined by a sequinned golden band. Her golden blonde hair, usually in a side braid, was instead in an intricate bun. He was surprised when Olivia smiled at him warmly, instead of the disappointment he'd been expecting from someone as dignified as her. "What matters is that you're here now."

As he began to lead them downstairs, he realised quickly that there was a rather huge flaw in his plan.

Bringing two plus-ones along with him would have been fine if it were his sisters. However, bringing two girlfriends would be awkward, he realised, as he wasn't sure who to walk next to; Olivia or Claire. In the end, he ended up walking between them. Inviting them both must have been like an insult to them, as a reminder that the Selection was a competition and he was dating multiple girls at once. How stupid had he been?

He was relieved when Rollan Tyer, his new best friend, beckoned them into a limousine. He took a seat next to one of the guards who would be tailing them throughout the night, and Olivia and Claire sat down in the row behind them. "Officer Gardner," he greeted after reading the guard's nametag in the dim light. Then, he lowered his voice. "This evening's going to be a little awkward since I'm bringing two girlfriends," he admitted as quietly as he could, hoping the girls wouldn't overhear. "Could you, you know, talk to whichever one I'm not talking to at that moment and keep them interested? It'll be hard to divide my attention equally."

Gardner blinked rapidly in surprise, but nodded. "I'll try my best, Your Highness." Clearly, he hadn't been expecting the task of keeping the prince's girlfriends occupied, but Ben hoped he would keep his word.

The limousine drove out into the streets. The sky was dark, but Angeles was lit by the lights of many buildings. A few minutes later, they pulled into the nearly full parking lot of the Gold Crown Hotel, the chosen venue of the charity dinner. It was one of the most expensive places in the whole of Angeles, and even royalty like Ben could appreciate its luxury.

There was a flurry of fanfare as he stepped into the golden foyer of the hotel, with Claire and Olivia on either side of him. Unsurprisingly, he immediately caught the attention of the paparazzi, who were thankfully blocked by the velvet ropes on the edges of the carpet.

"Prince Ben!" one journalist screamed ecstatically, holding a microphone over the rope. "How are you feeling today?"

Ben ignored the journalist, striding purposefully through the foyer. It was no easy task, as soon more and more people joined in, and he wondered if he would have been able to hear himself over the noise. A man opened the large wooden double doors for him, and the crowd was finally behind him. He took a moment to breathe, then turned to both Claire and Olivia apologetically.

"That was hectic," Olivia remarked, taking the words right out of Ben's mouth. He could still hear the frenzied shouts of all the photographers and journalists.

Claire opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as two people approached them. "Your Highness," the man greeted. Ben recognised him from the few times they'd met and the previous charity dinners, and it seemed as though he hadn't changed a bit since last year. He was still the same dignified blonde man.

"Mr Nichols," he replied, causing a faint smile to form on said person's features.

The founder of the Nichols Education Fund held out a hand, and Ben shook it. "Just Leon will be fine, Your Highness."

Leon Nichols was a Two and the son of a wealthy couple who owned one of Illea's largest fashion companies. All the Nichols inheritance was his, and he clearly thought he had too much money to spare, for he'd spent more than half of it on starting and funding a charity dedicated to educating the lower castes. He'd caused quite a stir among Illea when he started the Nichols Education Fund at age 25, and the charity was still running smoothly three years later.

By his side stood ex-Sterlington student, Alicia Francis, Leon's girlfriend of six years. Having attended the best university in the whole of Illea, she had been a great help in getting NEF kickstarted and was extremely passionate about lower caste rights, despite being a Three herself. She was NEF's representative whenever they visited the palace, and had been the one to invite the Schreaves to the charity dinner, like the past two years.

Alicia smiled warmly at Ben, her blue eyes twinkling. She was dressed in a long black dress that would've been rather simple if not for the silver designs the top half, matching Olivia and Claire almost perfectly. The three of them standing next to each other were picture perfect, like they were close friends. "I'm so glad to see you here again, Your Highness, and I look forward to getting to know these two ladies. It's excellent that you've shown such an interest in our cause."

Though Ben really hadn't had a choice in going to the dinner, he had to agree that the NEF was really helping people and was glad to be offering some support by paying the fees for the charity dinner. His mother had never disclosed exactly how much money the tickets costed, but he doubted it was more than a scratch in the royal budget anyways. "Thank you, Miss Francis. I'd like to introduce you to two of the Selected: Lady Olivia Meyers and Lady Claire de Orczy."

They both curtsied to Alicia, who looked delighted to have some company. "It's a pleasure to have you here today. Would you like me to show you around?" The three girls left, but not before Alicia dropped a kiss on Leon's cheek, and he found himself wondering wistfully if one of the Selected would treat him that way in the future.

Ben was left alone with Leon and Gardner, and he found the silence a bit intimidating. He'd never quite gotten too friendly with Leon and wasn't sure how to begin a conversation. Luckily, Leon had no trouble in the social department. "So how's your Selection coming along?" he asked, effectively breaking the silence.

"It's very different from what I expected," Ben admitted, realising that it seemed to be his response for everyone. "I have met many amazing girls, though."

Leon raised an eyebrow, but didn't demand more answers. "I've been following your Selection," he remarked.

Ben just barely managed to hide his surprise. The last thing he'd been expecting was someone like Leon to be watching his Selection. "I didn't know it was that big of a deal," he joked, though inside, he was feeling a bit uncomfortable. A small reminder that he would never be able to find love normally, and all his actions would be broadcast to the public.

"Oh, it's all the entire country talks about," Leon said, breaking into a full smile for the first time since the start of their conversation. "It's hard to flick through the morning news without seeing the newest theories about your girls, or photos of your latest date."

"I haven't been paying the media much attention," Ben admitted. He'd been so busy with his own Selection that he'd hardly bothered to see what the provinces were saying about it, and he had a feeling he wouldn't like it anyway. The poll with the top few girls was the only article he'd decided to read so far, and he planned on keeping it that way.

Leon nodded thoughtfully. "Probably best that way. It can be poison to one's self-confidence. However, if you know how to play them correctly, it can also be ambrosia to your reign."

Not for the first time, Ben found himself admiring his senior's words. As someone who probably received the same amount of criticism, if not more, as any Illean celebrity, Ben knew just how strongly feedback could impact him. He might have thrown pillows around his room several times after reading the fiftieth article about Marinette's queenly qualities. "So what ridiculous rumors have they been publishing?"

Leon shook his head in amusement. "Best to see for yourself, Your Highness. Some of the articles are far too unbelievable to tell."

Gardner, who'd been completely silent since then (dutifully staring at Olivia and Claire to make sure they were safe), suddenly spoke up. "Yeah, there are quite a few interesting ones. Some of my friends are also particularly… gossipy." He winced, and Ben wondered just what the other guards talked about.

"What about you, then?" Leon joked, seeming perfectly at ease conversing with a guard.

Gardner shook his head, though a small smile escaped him. "That life isn't for me. It's not like us guards are supposed to have a role in the Selection. We just go on doing our job." It made sense to Ben, and privately, he was a little glad. He didn't wanna lose any of his Selected to some guards — apparently, it had happened in the past.

"Well, that's good for you," Leon commented, breaking off as the girls walked back towards them. "Oh, hey, honey, Lady Claire, Lady Olivia."

Alicia gave the three of them winning smiles. "Honey, I think we have some more guests coming. We must greet them." She gestured to the doorway, where an irritable-looking couple had appeared. "It was lovely meeting with all of you, and I hope we have more talking opportunities throughout the night!" They wandered off, hand in hand, leaving Ben alone with his girlfriends and Gardner.

"'Honey?'" Claire echoed as she smiled dreamily. "They're the cutest famous couple, honestly. I'm just waiting for them to get married." Next to her, Olivia seemed to be lost in thought, barely paying attention to the conversation.

Even Gardner nodded in agreement. "I know, right?" he said, some wistfulness in his voice. Ben couldn't help but wonder if he had a girlfriend; many of the maids and guards in the palace were together. "They just need to get married already! Can you imagine how extravagant their wedding would be, though?"

He held back a laugh. "I thought you didn't pay attention to the media?"

"Come on, Your Highness, you can't deny that they're total relationship goals," Claire rebutted excitedly. "They're all over my CapturePlus feed!"

He decided to turn the conversation before it got too deep into the relationship of Leon Nichols and Alicia Francis — though he did envy their dynamic and wanted to find something similar for himself. Olivia was visibly bored, though she still gave him a refined smile as always when she caught him looking her way.

"I think the dinner's about to start," he suggested, and Olivia's forced expression turned into one of relief. "Should we go and find our places?"

After searching quite a while for their name tags — they had one of the many small round tables to themselves, along with two extra places allowing Gardner to join them — Ben settled into his chair, draping his blazer around the back of it. A waiter announced that the charity dinner would be officially starting in two minutes, and he turned back to Claire and Olivia.

"So how have you enjoyed your time at the palace so far?" he asked, leaning across the circular table.

"It's been wonderful. The days in the Women's Room are the best, but I'm also learning new things about our history and the monarchy so I adore the lessons too," Claire gushed. "And of course, you can't forget the fact that the palace is so nice!"

"It is, isn't it?" Olivia agreed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "My room is so beautiful. I have a window overlooking the gardens, and though it's not as lovely as a balcony it's great to wake up with the sunlight shining into your room." Her smile was like the sun itself, beaming and radiant, though as composed as ever.

Ben thought of all the times he'd woken up at dawn and shut his curtains before resuming his snoring. "I'm guessing you're a morning person, Lady Olivia?" he suggested jokingly. "Because for vampires like me, that's our worst nightmare." Gardner let out a snort, but stayed silent otherwise.

"The morning is one of the best times of day," Claire said passionately. "Those few hours when the sun has just come up, the comforting silence, the chill in the air…"

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I get it!"

He found that Olivia and Claire were easy to talk to. Though Olivia was more reserved than any of the other girls, she was so elegant and ladylike that the conversation flowed naturally. Claire, on the other had, was also very polite, but gave off more of a positive vibe and seemed so pleased and grateful about everything. Even Gardner was amusing.

The four of them continued making small talk until they heard Leon's voice over the microphone. "Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention please?"

Every head swivelled in the direction of the stage, and he raised a hand in thanks. "I am Leon Nichols, founder of the Nichols Education Fund, and before our meal, I would like to share a few words with everyone.

"The Nichols Education Fund works to provide education to those who cannot afford or access it. Our headquarters is just a few blocks down from here, but we are stationed all over the country to help children receive schooling. As you may imagine, this costs an exorbitant amount of money, but it is what my team and I believe in.

"All of you today are helping young Illean children learn. The money you've given to this charity dinner will all be put to our cause, and within a month, every single person here will receive a handwritten letter from the child whose education you have funded. I know many of us may not have enjoyed our own school experiences," a few people chuckled at Leon's joke, "but to those poor children, this is their dreams coming true."

Leon paused for a moment, and even from a distance, Ben could see the passion in his eyes. "So as we enjoy the entertainment and meals tonight, always remember the children who never had a proper education but can now go to school, all because of your help."

From the side of the stage, Alicia started clapping, and gradually every single person — probably seventy altogether — stood up and joined in, Ben's table included. He continued clapping as loudly as he could and didn't sit down until a waiter came over to their table with a large plate of assorted crackers with fancy toppings.

The jazz band on stage had started playing by the time Ben had finished his first few crackers (he could go on eating the hummus and olives one all day). They played an upbeat and playful tune, and when he turned to look at them he was shocked to see a boy his own age playing the tuba alongside many slightly older musicians. After a few songs, the jazz band bowed to a startlingly huge amount of applause, and Ben made his way to the tuba player once all the members had come offstage.

The first thing he noticed about the boy was that he looked startlingly familiar. He felt sure he'd seen his blue eyes and golden-blonde hair somewhere before, though he was also sure he'd never encountered him before.

The boy looked surprised at being approached by the crown prince, dropping into a respectful bow with his tuba still in one hand. "Your Highness," he murmured.

"Your entire band was amazing," Ben praised once he'd stood up straight again. "The music was perfect, not distracting but not overly calm either, like with classical music. Tell me, what's your name?"

"Thanks, Your Highness," the boy said, his cheeks showing the faintest of blushes in the soft lighting. Clearly he wasn't used to being complimented. "I'm Kai Keyes."

It hit him as suddenly as if Marinette had punched him in the face; he could remember Kaylee's form, where she'd mentioned her quadruplet brother and sisters. They were almost identical, the only differences being a few of their facial features and their gender attributes, obviously. "Oh! I was thinking you looked familiar! Your sister…"

Ben trailed off, trying to decide how to mention Kaylee. The look Kai was giving him was almost warning, and he wondered whether Kai approved of the Selection or not.

"…Is one of your thirty-five girlfriends," he responded coolly, the blush completely faded from his cheeks.

Yep, Kai definitely didn't approve of the Selection.

"Actually, it's twenty-six now, but that's correct," he said weakly. He hadn't had any interaction with the family of the Selected up until now, but he had been expecting some awkwardness. Who knew if he would break Kaylee's heart one day, or send her home before the week was up? Kai had every right to be suspicious of him, but it wasn't a very comfortable feeling.

Kai looked like he would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't talking to the crown prince. "Same deal."

"So how long have you been playing the tuba?" Ben asked desperately, trying to change the topic.

If Kaylee's quadruplet brother had picked up on his terrible conversation attempts, he didn't let on. "As long as I can remember. Our entire family is into music. My mother and father sing soprano and alto in the Denbeigh choir, Kaitlyn's mastering the sax, Karen's recently picked up bass guitar but plays multiple string instruments and Kaylee plays the cello." He frowned. "You probably already knew that, though."

"I didn't," Ben admitted, ignoring Kai's surprised expression and moving on quickly. "Denbeigh, huh? That's quite a distance from Angeles. Did you travel here specially to perform?"

Kai shook his head. "Well, not really. I signed with this jazz band about a week after the Selection started, since it got our family some attention and all, and I'll be going over Illea and playing gigs like this with them for at least three more months. The pay is quite high, and all the members are really nice." He let out a soft sigh. "I just miss my sisters and parents, but I'm happy I'm helping them."

Before Ben could respond, he continued. "What do you think about my sister?"

The hardened gaze of Kai's blue eyes and the suddenness of the question caught Ben off guard, and he racked his brains desperately as he searched for an answer. He felt like he would make Kai mad whatever he said, but was there some way he could make the overprotective brother understand?

"She was the first girl I talked to, out of all the Selected," he began, deciding to keep things simple. "From the very first moment, she was a total jokester, and always managed to make me smile with her infectious personality. I'm still not sure what I feel for her, and we're more friendly than romantic when we interact, but she's so bubbly and witty that I'm always at ease around her."

He doubted Kai would be very happy if he commented on how beautiful she also was, so he refrained from mentioning it, and luckily Kai seemed to relax. "Is that true?" When Ben replied with a nod, he exhaled a sigh of relief. "I'll take your word for it then. Just… If you hurt Kaylee, I'll personally come to the palace and chop your fucking balls off, crown prince or not."

Instead of being threatened or offended, Ben actually smiled. "I won't. That's a promise." He could understand; every time a foreign prince tried to make a move on his sisters, he wanted nothing more than to protect them, despite how annoying they were. Family was an exclusive bond that ran deeper than anything else.

"Do you want to have dinner at our table?" he offer. It would be great fun to get to know Kai and then tell Kaylee all about it once he returned to the palace.

But Kai shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. My heart lies with my band, though it was great talking to you, Your Highness." Instead of bowing like he had at first, he punched Ben's shoulder playfully. "But remember, if you hurt her, you'll have me to face."

Ben saluted to Kai, who sauntered off towards the tables the jazz band occupied, and rejoined his crew. "Sorry," he apologised quickly, before Olivia or Claire could say anything. "I was talking to the tuba player." He avoided explaining the identity of this particular musician, because after all, he was supposed to be focused on them for the night.

"The jazz band was so talented, right?" Claire asked, smiling. It seemed all was forgiven. "And don't worry. Officer Gardner was teaching us how to fold these paper napkins into animals." Sure enough, a small duck was sitting next to her plate.

Olivia's portion of the table was free from napkin animals, but she had occupied herself with a glass of sparkling water. "Yes, the music was charming," she agreed, though lacking the same positivity. Ben wondered if he'd imagined it, or if Olivia just didn't want to be showed up.

All through their main course, Olivia seemed slightly distant, usually focused on her food, as Claire and Gardner engaged in lively conversation with Ben. While the two Selected seemed to get along well, he was slightly concerned about Olivia.

He pulled her aside once their dessert had arrived; Claire seemed content to continue her current discussion about Italian cuisine with a willing Gardner. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "It's just that you seem kind of… Off."

"I am perfectly fine," Olivia reassured him, and for a moment he actually believed her. "The food is scrumptious and the entertainment is spectacular. Mr Nichols and Miss Francis are lovely people." Her white lies were so smooth that Ben wouldn't have picked up on them if not for the tight set of her mouth.

"You can tell me," he insisted. Olivia sighed in a frustrated fashion.

"Fine," she relented. "I'm not perfectly fine. I'm not unhappy, but I'm not overjoyed either. I came to the palace to see if I could fall in love with the prince, and to see if I could help guide him in his time of need. I was hoping for some one-on-one time, to see what he truly is, because on camera, people often give a very different impression of themselves. But instead, I get invited on a date shared with another girl, to some formal occasion, most likely just because I know how to behave myself."

Ben realised with a sinking heart that she was correct.

"I don't mean to sound desperate, Your Highness, because by no means am I so. I am simply feeling a little bit down, is all, that I don't get to really spend much time with you."

"We can go on our own date this week?" Ben offered weakly, not sure how to respond. He realised awkwardly that he still hadn't gone on the promised date with Fleur, but he'd had no clue what they could do together.

Olivia paused, and shook her head. "With all due respect, Your Highness, I don't think we fit together."

The words took a moment to get through his head, and once they did, his eyes widened. How could Olivia have decided after a few weeks that there was no hope for the two of them? She was the people's favorite, yet here she was, practically asking to leave.

"Why?" was all he dared to ask.

She hesitated, which was unlike her — at least, from what Ben had gathered about her in the few short times they'd interacted. "Your Highness, I mean no offense, but I feel that you're a bit too _goofy_ for me." She used the word like it was poison, which might as well have been what she'd just poured down Ben's throat. "Do not get me wrong. I think you would be a great ruler, and I support you over your sister. However, I don't think you're currently responsible enough for this position."

Ahh. The lecture about what it took to be a king. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"But," Olivia continued, "that is not the sole reason. I just don't see the possibility of romance between us."

"It's been three weeks," Ben shot back. "Feelings don't magically appear." Suddenly faced with the reality of losing another one of his Selected, he was desperate. He didn't want to let Olivia go when he'd barely gotten to know her. Despite what she had just told him, what if she could be his wife one day? He wanted to at least begin to understand her before considering letting her leave.

"Just give me a chance. Stay a little while longer, so we can really get to know each other before you make your decision. And maybe, just maybe, you can help me become more of a king."

Slowly, Olivia met his eyes and she gave a calm nod. "That actually does not sound too terrible. Very well. I will stay at the palace. It will be good for me to have a break from my students anyways."

Glad that he'd narrowly avoided a goodbye, Ben worked up a grin. "Let's get back to our table now. Gardner and Claire are probably wondering where the hell we've gone, and that chocolate pudding with raspberry sauce looked good."

"A future king does not use foul language," Olivia warned, though she quickly broke into a smile as well. "But yes, I'm sure the pudding will be delicious."

hey guys!

oh my god, this is the 20th chapter! I can't believe we're already on the 20th chapter. But trust me, the story will most likely not be ending anytime soon. My plan so far is to announce the elite somewhere before or after chapter 40 (this is most likely going to change), and from then on, we'll just have to see :)

i'm so surprised and happy that i got, like, 5 new reviewers because of chapter 19! It makes me so happy, really. Meanwhile, I've noticed that a few submitters haven't been reviewing actively recently, and I really don't want to seem like an attention hog, but I'm much more willing to write your character if I know for certain you're reading my story (several people also haven't replied to PMs if I've asked them about their character). This really sucks, guys, because there are so many amazing characters I'm considering for the Elite, but don't want to put in because I don't even know if they read this and it would be unfair to the loyal reviewers' characters. But that's still a long way off, so no worries ;)

until next time!

~rysa

ps. sorry for the terrible chapter ending in general! i spent way too long on just this one chapter omg and i'm honestly so done with it rn. i hope you guys like olivia and claire!


	21. Give It a Break

It was on a rainy afternoon that Ben was sprinting through the corridors, already late for his father's council meeting. The king had suggested he make an appearance to receive some advice from the advisors, but after the disaster that was last meeting, Ben was really dreading hearing what they had to say.

Not to mention, he was sure to receive a long lecture for being late. Ben's tardiness had been one of his biggest weaknesses ever since he was a young child, and now that he was even closer to ascending the throne, people just wouldn't stop bothering him about it.

He was still reflecting on why the palace couldn't install clocks in every room when he ran straight into one of the Selected. Literally. He rounded the corner and crashed straight into Sydney Turner, her dark red curls flying into his face.

"Sorry!" he gasped as he staggered backwards, Sydney doing the same. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I-"

"Don't be," Sydney interrupted, holding a hand to her head, though she didn't seem to be in any visible pain. "It's my fault too." She grinned at him, taking a step forward. "You seem to be in a rush."

"Meeting with my father's council," he explained. However, he made no attempt to leave. Sir Pimentel and the other assholes could wait. He had not been able to spend some time with any of the Selected other than Olivia and Claire the previous day, due to the charity dinner, and wanted to at least have a simple conversation with Sydney.

She seemed to have read the grimace on his face, because she shook her head. "Poor you. I have an etiquette lesson with Katelyn and the other Selected, but I'm sure yours is worse. What's the point of all this crap anyways?"

Ben sighed. "We all have to do the things we hate."

Sydney was quiet for a moment, but then her green eyes lit up. "Let's be honest, neither of us will be productive if we're about to rip our hair out. So who said we have to do anything?"

That was how they found themselves a few minutes later at one of Tori's many old playrooms due to the weather outside, Sydney trying to find a decent TV channel to watch. "I can't believe you persuaded me into this," Ben complained, though he was truthfully relieved he'd escaped a council meeting. He doubted his father would let him off the hook, but for now, he wanted to enjoy his break.

Sydney held up her hands in surrender after setting down the remote — she'd decided on watching a reality TV show about some famous family. "Hey, there was no persuading involved," she shot back jokingly. "You chose this."

"I did," Ben agreed grudgingly, turning away from the TV to face Sydney on the comfy leather sofa. "But we're not just going to watch A Very Farrell Family the entire time, are we? Because I might just go and join the etiquette lesson instead."

Sydney scoffed as if he'd asked a stupid question. "Of course not. We're just going to relax here and chill. I bet you haven't ever really had a lot of chill time."

Truth be told, she was actually correct. He'd never quite understood what the point of doing absolutely nothing except relaxing was, but he'd prefer spending some time with Sydney over the advisors any day.

"But if you really don't want to be bored, there's this game I like to play," Sydney began, sparking Ben's interest. "One person says a word, and the other person has to say the first thing that comes into mind. But if the other person takes longer than three seconds, they have to do whatever the first person tells them to do."

"Sounds fun," Ben commented. "Hit me with a word."

Sydney thought for a moment before sitting up straighter. "Brown!"

Of all the things Ben had been preparing for, a plain and ugly — in his own opinion — color like brown had not been one of them. _What the hell relates to brown?_ "Uhh…"

"Three… Two… One…"

"Poop," Ben blurted out, just as Sydney opened her mouth. His answer sunk in for a moment, and they both burst out laughing.

Sydney wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. "That says a lot about you!" she quipped, still shaking with giggles. "But to be fair, I would have said the same."

"See? I'm a perfectly normal person," Ben told her with pretend smugness, and she giggled. "Alright. My turn. Socks."

"Smelly," Sydney answered, barely missing a beat. This caused another fit of laughter between the both of them, and Ben decided that he liked this game. The answers were ridiculous, but he was having fun. "Pineapple."

"Pen." Again, laughter at Ben's reference to a video which had recently gone viral all over the internet. "Make-up."

"Lauren."

And so they continued hitting each other with random words and responding with stupid answers, all while Yasmina Farrell screamed at her cousin in the background. There was never any hesitation and the game flowed well, until Sydney decided to answer 'Queen' with 'Taco'.

"Why a taco?" Ben gasped as he clutched his stomach, roaring with laughter. He was sure he'd never laughed so much in his life. Next to him, Sydney was practically rolling around, giggling so loudly that he was sure the whole palace could hear them.

"I don't know, it flew into my mind!" she defended, though she was definitely not upset at his teasing considering she was still laughing at herself. "Maybe I'm the Queen of Tacos!"

"Maybe," Ben said, not fully persuaded. After the laughter finally died down and the hilarity of the moment passed, he turned his attention to the TV where Jonathan Farrell had started lecturing his sister Helene on the importance of education. "This is boring." He found the remote on the table and picked it up, pressing the next button repeatedly as he flicked through the channels. "Let's find something el-"

He froze, his finger a few seconds away from pressing the button again. Next to him, Sydney's eyes widened. "Oh god…" she murmured.

"…really doubt that Prince Ben is fit to take the throne…" the reporter, a pretty brunette with large blue eyes, was saying with an anxious expression on her face. "…confirmed that our prince regularly misses important meetings… cannot handle his own Selection… disappointment to our country…"

 _Shut up! Shut up!_ were the only two words that ran in a frenzied way around Ben's head. _Shut up! Shut up!_ His eyes were glued to the screen, where a large, eye-catching headline read, 'Problems with our Crown Prince.'

 _Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_ he thought panickedly, but he could never bring himself to look away. So he watched helplessly as Sydney tried to obtain the remote and the reporter continued talking about how unfit he was to rule.

Somehow in his dazed state, he managed to press the button again, and the familiar face of Nora Callaghan showed up.

"What was the prince like during the Selection?" the interviewer inquired.

Nora shrugged nonchalantly. "Not much different from how he is on TV," she admitted, causing both relief and panic to bolt through Ben. "He is a kind guy, I guess we just weren't meant to be. He could have put a lot more effort into the Selection, though. I don't feel like he cares about some of us girls enough."

The interviewer began asking his next question, but Sydney had grabbed the remote from Ben and had furiously jabbed at the next button.

"… a look at King Julien's Selection. Eight girls were eliminated in the first week, and he narrowed his girls down to ten Elite after a month and a half. Prince Ben is getting closer and closer to a month, yet he still has twenty-six girls, and we don't feel…"

The TV screen flashed for a moment and turned off with a loud click after Sydney's perfectly manicured finger left the off button. Ben sat there, still staring at it, unable to believe what he had just seen.

He'd known it would happen sooner or later, that the excitement of the Selection would have faded and the critics would be back. But seeing proof of Illea's hatred for him on the news had still stung, even more than he'd expected it to.

Ben thought he'd gotten used to the idea that people disapproved of him a long time ago. He had felt as though there was nothing they could say that would affect him any more.

He had been so clearly and painfully wrong.

"Ben," Sydney pleaded, causing him to look up at her. "That… That might be what the media says, but trust me, none of us girls agree with them."

His mouth was completely dry, and he'd forgotten how to form words with them. How could Sydney possibly speak for all of the girls? Nora and the news reporter were right; he hadn't put enough effort into the Selection. He'd failed, like with everything else he did. He betted that all of them, behind his back, were musing about how terrible a job he was doing.

"Ben," Sydney said again, more firmly this time. "Those reporters, Nora, they don't understand you. They haven't met you like we have, and Nora is just salty about being eliminated. They're making assumptions and judging you because of who your ancestors are. They don't know the real Benvolio Amadeus Sigfried Schreave."

If Ben hadn't been so upset, he would've exclaimed, 'How the fuck do you know my full name?', but in this case he didn't. She was probably pals with Kaylee anyway. "Like Nora said, there's not much difference from the 'real Benvolio Amadeus Sigfried Schreave' and the Ben everyone else thinks I am," he managed to get out, his voice laced with bitterness.

"That's true," Sydney remarked. "The Ben everyone thinks you are is an amazing person. The real Ben that we've all gotten to know and love is an even more amazing person. An amazing person who cares about the country they were born to rule, more than any other person, that they doubt whether they're even good enough to take the throne or not. An amazing person who at heart is really sensitive and lets mean comments get to them when they don't contain a hint of truth. An amazing person who will do anything to keep his twenty-six girlfriends happy, and he really does manage to."

Ben swallowed hard. "But I'm not an amazing person," he pointed out thickly. "I'm none of the things you're talking about, Sydney."

"Oh, you're a great liar," Sydney responded fiercely. "But I'm not done yet, Ben. You have no clue how much we all admire you for being able to handle such a hard job yet still not crack under pressure and become someone totally different. How you manage to maintain your sense of humor while slaving over financial statements is completely beyond me, or any of the Selected. You're doing the best you possibly can, and you're definitely not the boy from every girl's fantasies or the ideal ruler that will make Illea a great nation, but you're exactly what I signed up for, and I wouldn't want it any other way."

Then, surprising Ben, she pulled him into a bear hug, patting his back soothingly. "I really mean it, Ben," she admitted, her previous fire gone. "And I understand how you feel. I really do. But don't beat yourself up, because then you'll just be showing others that they got to you."

After a moment of surprise, Ben returned the hug, and gradually, Sydney's words started sinking in. In fact, after a few minutes of both of them staying like that in a comfortable silence, he smiled. It was small, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Thank you," he murmured. Then, slightly louder in an attempt to regain the happy mood, "if this whole Selection thing doesn't work out you should consider a job in counselling."

They broke apart and Sydney scowled in disgust. "Eww, no," she said firmly. "I'm not ditching my tigers and elephants for people like you." However, she returned his smile. "But if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here. Like I said, I really do understand you."

Ben wanted to ask just how she understood his feelings so well, but he guessed that was a personal story best saved for another time. "I'm sorry our little break took such a turn," he apologised.

"Don't be," Sydney countered, grinning. "I'd prefer cheering you up over walking like a lady any day."

Maybe it was brought on by her words, but almost as soon as they stepped out of the TV room, they saw Katelyn bringing the rest of the Selected down the hallway.

"Crap," Sydney muttered, waving to Arylih and Leia while shrinking towards the wall. "Yo, Ben, if you could help me a little here, that would be great."

Katelyn marched over to them, followed by the rest of the Selected. "Lady Turner!" she scolded, fuming. "Where-"

She broke off as she noticed Ben standing there as well. "Ben," she greeted, her angry mood evaporating almost immediately. Katelyn was practically like an aunt to Ben. "I didn't know you were with Lady Turner."

"Sorry for keeping her from you, Katelyn," Ben apologised, shooting Sydney a grin. "She's all yours now."

"Fantastic!" Katelyn clapped her hands together. "Sydney, we're reviewing proper walking posture. Grab a pair of heels and join us!"

He was so going to pay for this the next time he came across Sydney, her furious expression told him.

But watching Sydney stumble across the hallway as she clutched Arylih's shoulder was probably the most hilarious thing he'd seen in a long time, and cheered him up almost as much as her words.

* * *

hey guys!

kinda short chapter for you today! this actually only took me about a day haha, but thanks to devonnlove, Sydney's creator, for giving me the idea! I hope you like the way their little "date" turned out, haha.

i'm going to be on a school trip from monday the 17th to friday the 21st, so i won't be able to upload or work on chapters during that time. sorry! :(

what kind of chapters do you guys prefer? longer ones (somewhere around 5000 words) or shorter ones (around 2000 words)? shorter ones are sometimes easier and quicker to write, but obviously you can talk about more with long ones, and it's really just about personal preference. some people might mind scrolling down a huge long page, while others might not want to get the story only in small chunks, if you get what i'm saying.

as always, review and let me know your thoughts on the chapter! :)) i love all my reviewers so much, and thank you for all your kind words.

until next time!

~rysa


	22. VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey guys.

I'm really sorry to be writing this. I know in a lot of my chapters I've said that I will try to continue this story until the end, but right now I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with this and it's just not working out.

I'm going to sadly have to put this story On Hiatus for now. I'll be taking a break from it, because right now I have no inspiration for this story and I have no idea how to continue it. Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me since the beginning of this story, and I'm really sorry to be letting you all down.

One of the main reasons I'm putting this on hold is because I rushed into it. It wasn't very thought out and I'm still disappointed with the plot and characters. I've been wanting to start a new one for a while, and now that I get a break from TBWCL, I've decided to start another SYOC.

The first chapter should be posted very soon (in fact, it might just be posted by the time you read this!) and it's called "There Are Always Stars". I'm not accepting guest submissions, sorry! However, if you want to reserve a spot, you are more than welcome to, and I'd love for you to do so! Even if I'm taking a break from this story, I hope you'll support me in my new one :)

I am really sorry for pulling this on you guys, but I hope you'll understand.

Until next time, in TAAS I guess?

~Rysa


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